The Portuguese Balance Company grows in Spain with the purchase of the women’s chain Vivafit
Balance Company grows and enters new markets through acquisition. The Portuguese fitness group has completed the purchase of two chains, Vivafit and Personal20, as you may have learned 2playbook. These operations allow it to diversify, start operating in countries where it had no presence and expand its portfolio of brands, to which is added the chain of 30-minute workouts, Fitness Theory 30 (FT30), recently launched. At the moment it is in the testing phase in a 120-square-meter store in Caldas da Rainha (Portugal), but the group’s intention is to boost the sale of franchises in all its chains starting in September.
Vivafit operates women’s gyms that offer 30-minute workouts. It was founded two decades ago in Portugal, and It currently manages 12 gyms in the Portuguese country, one in India, another in Uruguay and another in Madrid. This last center, inaugurated in 2019, is the gateway of Balance Company in Spain. This will not be the only center of the Portuguese company in Spanish territory, since its intention is to be able to expand other brands in its catalogue, such as Fitness Factory.
With the acquisition of Vivafit, the Portuguese company adds to its portfolio an alternative to cover the female fitness market niche, with which it believes it can expand at a rapid pace in markets such as the Middle East or India, as well as Portugal. Personal20, for its part, is a chain of muscular electrostimulation, founded in Portugal in 2016, and manages 12 studios: eight in the Portuguese country, two in Washington (United States) and another two in Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates).
“The reason for buying these brands is to grow in a variety of opportunities for our franchisees,” explains Pedro Simao, CEO of Balance Company. Now the group has a chain low cost, Fitness Factory, which brings together 33 gyms (31 in Portugal and two in India); other premium, Balance Club, which manages 5 clubs in Portugal; a store, FT30; another specialized in female public, Vivafit; and another focused on electrostimulation, Personal20. Between all of them, the group already has 63 centers, more than double the number it had at the beginning of the year.
“Our intention is to grow with all these brands, especially from September, when we will give a boost with franchises both nationally and internationally,” says Simao. The group studies opportunities to grow both organically and through the acquisition and subsequent conversion of sports centers up and running that need a boost.
As already anticipated in March, the group plans to launch between 18 centers and 20 establishments throughout this year. Balance Company closed 2022 with a turnover of 12.1 million euros and this year it expects to bill close to 19 million.
