In Fitness M&A, Investors Push Past Fads to Find Flexible, Enduring Operations
Gym memberships may be a discretionary expense for consumers, but even in tough times certain pockets of the fitness industry prove their staying power
The M&A ecosystem has seen its fair share of challenges in the last few years, with current market conditions suggesting headwinds will remain for some time. In such environments, consumer-facing industries can be hit particularly hard, especially in discretionary categories.
But when it comes to fitness, consumers are increasingly less willing to give up that gym membership—even during a market downturn—according to industry dealmakers who spoke with Middle Market Growth.
“I’m super bullish on the category,” says Jeremy Hirsch, Head of Franchise & Multi-Unit Services at Houlihan Lokey. “Health and wellness is becoming more core to people’s lives.”
The diversity of the fitness landscape is one characteristic that makes the sector an attractive one for potential dealmakers. But experts say not all segments within the fitness industry are created equal. While gym memberships may be sticky with consumers, the type of gym that’s attracting and retaining a customer base—high value low price (HVLP), mid-tier gyms, high-end clubs or niche boutiques—can each come with their own growth opportunities and risks for dealmakers.
The Barbell Effect
Fitness gyms and clubs make up a vast market landscape. A search within middle-market engine Grata for “fitness center” or “fitness club” reveals 18,681 businesses, more than half of them bootstrapped with revenues below $1 billion.
Separate data shows strong growth performance in this category. In its 2025 State of the Fitness Market report, investment bank Lincoln International, in partnership with L.E.K. Consulting, found the number of health club members steadily rose from 64 million in 2019 to 77 million in 2024, with club visits up by 8% year-over-year.
According to Kyle Perreira, a director at Lincoln International with a decade of experience working on the sell side of fitness deals, one factor behind the resiliency of fitness clubs is that they are typically “a very localized, service-based asset not necessarily tied to tariffs, or supply chain constraints or swings.”
The market today is experiencing what Perreira describes as a “barbell effect,” however, that reveals which categories of this landscape fare better than others.
On one end of that barbell are the HVLPs like Planet Fitness and Crunch, a strong-performing space that continues to do “extremely well,” says Hirsch, particularly as it evolves into what he describes as “HVLP 2.0.” These next-generation businesses are adding high-demand amenities and up-sell opportunities while preserving a low price point. That’s an attractive proposition for dealmakers: Earlier this month private equity firm Leonard Green & Partners announced it would acquire a majority stake in Crunch Fitness from TPG Growth, TPG’s middle-market growth equity platform.
At the other end of the barbell are similarly successful high-end fitness gyms like Equinox, with “waitlists through the roof,” says Perreira, who adds that “the high-end consumer is still willing to pay for high-end gyms.” Last March Equinox announced $1.8 billion in new capital from several investors, including Sixth Street, Silver Lake and L Catterton. The business said it would use the funds to refinance maturing loans and open new club locations.
It’s the middle of the barbell that’s struggling most, Perreira says, with mid-tier operations unable to compete against HVLPs that add a similar caliber of amenities yet continue to charge more for membership.
On the other hand, notes Hirsch, “it’s the middle of the spectrum that is the biggest piece of the pie,” and dealmakers remain active in the space. Last year interval training-focused fitness brand Orangetheory Fitness merged with Self Esteem Brands in a “merger of equals,” creating one of the largest fitness franchise operators that now includes the Orangetheory, Anytime Fitness and The Bar Method brands.
Then there’s a fourth category of the market outside the barbell: fitness boutiques. These are the local yoga, spinning and Pilates studios that tend to show resiliency, too, offering plenty of opportunity for organic growth and expansion via add-ons.
But the fitness industry can be highly subject to fads, and mom-and-pop establishments hoping to capitalize on that trendy new workout risk shrinking as fast as they grew.
Nama-Staying Power
Among fitness trends that have come and gone, yoga has proven over the decades to be one fitness trend here to stay. With the yoga industry worth an estimated $116.6 billion in 2024 and expected to grow to more than $200 billion by 2030, according to Grand View Research, investors are increasingly recognizing yoga’s revenue opportunity goes beyond membership fees for in-studio classes.
Technology has become a powerful tool for the yoga sector’s growth, Grand View Research’s report noted, with online yoga courses and digital yoga accreditation training programs both expected to experience significant expansion into the next decade.
It’s not just a fitness fad. It’s a science of health and vitality and longevity. More people recognize the value of something can be done anywhere without equipment.
Beth Shaw
YogaFit
One business embracing this tech opportunity is YogaFit, incorporated in 1997 by CEO and founder Beth Shaw. Now the largest yoga school in North America, YogaFit offers yoga in-person and online teacher training services and retreats, continuing education courses and branded yoga studios.
When it comes to the staying power of yoga, Shaw notes that the practice is 6,000 years old. “It’s not just a fitness fad,” she says. “It’s a science of health and vitality and longevity…More people recognize the value of something can be done anywhere without equipment.”
With different modalities that range from more stretch- and flexibility-focused to hot yoga, the practice appeals to people of all ages, locations and demographics. “This is a practice that, in the right hands, can be modified and augmented so that anyone can find success,” she adds.
Bringing Tech to the Fore
That level of accessibility is among the largest factors differentiating fitness fads from staples, experts say.
For YogaFit, word of mouth has been instrumental in driving growth for the business so far. Shaw says that she took a page out of CrossFit’s business model, allowing the YogaFit name to be licensed out for yoga studios, and expanding internationally to launch operations in places including Japan.
In its next chapter of growth, though, technology has been the focus for Shaw, who says she’s looking for a tech partner to collaborate with and potentially acquire half of the company. Already, wearable fitness gadgets like the Apple Watch have become a mainstay among yoga teachers and instructors; now, Shaw notes, tools like AI have the potential to significantly augment the delivery of the yoga experience—though for now, she prefers to remain mum on specifics for YogaFit’s tech adoption plans.
The opportunity within tech will be a major component to the overall fitness landscape’s success going forward, according to Hirsch. “Eventually, it’s not just going to be that you go to the gym, but you go to the gym and you track all the data, that data goes back to your primary care professional and so on,” he says. “I think you’re going to see the whole concept of what a gym is really change over the next 10-20 years.”
Experts say that potential investors have plenty to consider when exploring the fitness market. That includes staples like customer churn and satisfaction, upsell opportunities and, increasingly, innovative ways to integrate technology and enhance the member experience.
Diversity and fragmentation across various segments of the fitness landscape create plenty of investment potential for private equity sponsors and corporate acquirers alike.
But with talk of a potential recession looming and declining consumer sentiment adding yet another wave of downward pressure on M&A, investors will want to pay close attention to how establishments capitalize on fitness trends, and assess whether those trends have the potential to stick around for the lifecycle of the investment.
For Shaw, yoga businesses like YogaFit have already proven their resiliency in markets up and down.
“We’ve seen since the pandemic that people are more health conscious, and that if they have to cut back in certain areas, hopefully their yoga fitness will not be one of them,” says Shaw.
Carolyn Vallejo is Middle Market Growth’s digital editor.
Middle Market Growth is produced by the Association for Corporate Growth. To learn more about the organization and how to become a member, visit www.acg.org.
