all in by Joaquín Iribarren at MoveUp. The chain of gyms, which came to operate three sports centers in Madrid, has changed hands after its general director and founder will buy 79% of the capital that until last June was in the hands of his partner, a family office Basque. Now with 100% control, Iribarren expects 2023 to be a year of growth with the ambition of reaching 2025 with a maximum of four operating centers.
The company stopped operating two facilities it had in Madrid and focused its efforts on the only club it currently manages: a 1,500-square-meter facility in the center of Tres Cantos (Madrid), which serves 1,150 members and that in the summer he will carry out works to improve the club. “We will raise the price to 42 euros, but we hope that the members value the improvements we have made and the fact that we have not raised the rate since 2019,” says Joaquín Iribarren.
The company moves in the medium segment, where it hopes to continue operating with the next centers that it adds to its network. With the aim of having four clubs in the medium term, it is now negotiating the purchase of two gyms, one larger and another that is around 1,300 meters long. This, while also negotiating the entry of investment funds and family offices who have been interested in MoveUp.
MoveUp operates a gym in Tres Cantos that serves more than 1,000 members
“Investors have approached; they like the management model of the company and the diversity of club models that we want to grow with through acquisitions,” she says. The key, in the words of the manager, is the location of the premises, the daily operations of MoveUp and the team. “The group is the most important thing; now we are nine in Tres Cantos ”, he describes.
The investment that will be allocated is unknown, but the manager assumes that it will be cheaper to grow with purchases than to do it organically. Before the pandemic, he spent an average of between 500,000 euros and 600,000 euros to open each club, and at that time he was already betting on acquisitions. In fact, the one in Tres Cantos bought it from Fitness Place in 2017. Two years later he bought an old Basic-Fit that had closed in Carabanchel.
