ACCC will not oppose Quadrant’s Fitness First acquisition

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has advised that it will not oppose private equity firm Quadrant's proposed acquisition of Fitness First Australia’s operations.

Quadrant, which burst into the Australian fitness market in August with the aquisition of Goodlife Health Clubs and subsequent purchase of 24/7 fitness chain Jetts Fitness, announced its plans to buy Fitness First’s 65 Australian clubs from hedge fund giant Oaktree Capital in late September.

The ACCC’s subsequent investigation was based on the market reach of Fitness First and Goodlife, which are the two largest chains of full service clubs in Australia.

Both businesses overlap in Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland.

In making its findings, the ACCC said it took into account high churn rates affecting the gym industry in the past few years, where a number of new operators, including companies from overseas have entered the market and experienced significant growth in a short time frame.

ACCC Commissioner Roger Featherston stated “the ACCC determined that following the proposed acquisition, Fitness First, Goodlife, and Jetts would continue to face competition from other alternatives, including low cost gyms such as Anytime Fitness and specialist gym providers such as F45 and Crossfit.

"The ACCC also found that convenience of location was an important factor in a consumer's choice of gym thereby giving an individual gym an opportunity to compete against a chain of gyms.

"Other suppliers of fitness services, such as bootcamps, or specialist studios, such as pilates, also impose a degree of competitive constraint on full service gyms."

Quadrant's no.5 fund is worth $980 million and, following the acquisition, will operate over 130 gyms under the Fitness First and Goodlife brands, managed by Quadrant's Fitness and Lifestyle Group.

Images: Fitness First's newly opened club at Sydney's Barangaroo

30th November 2016 - FITNESS FIRST’S NEW ‘TITANIUM’ CLUB LAUNCHED AS AUSTRALIA’S FIRST ‘CONNECTED GYM’

25th October 2016 - FITNESS FIRST CLUBS TO BEGIN 24/7 OPERATIONS

21st October 2016 - AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION TO SCRUTINISE QUADRANT’S FITNESS FIRST ACQUISITION

29th September 2016 - QUADRANT EXPANDS WELLNESS EMPIRE WITH ACQUISITION OF FITNESS FIRST AUSTRALIA

19th August 2016 - ARDENT LEISURE SELLS GOODLIFE​ HEALTH CLUBS IN $260 MILLION DEAL

25th March 2014 - FITNESS AUSTRALIA RELEASES NATIONAL MEMBERSHIP CONTRACT TEMPLATE, APPOINTS NEW BOARD MEMBER 

29th May 2013 - NSW FAIR TRADING COMMISSIONER REMINDS CONSUMERS OF GYM MEMBERSHIP RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES 

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