These acquisitions bring its network to 17 clubs with a total surface area of nearly 17,000 m² and serving more than 50,000 subscribers.
The Fitness market is in full development in France: it generates more than 2.5 billion euros in 2013 with a growth forecast of 7% per year and concerns more than 4,000,000 practitioners. This dynamic is driven by strong trends: (i) a significant lag compared to other European countries, (ii) a continuous ageing of the population and (iii) a deteriorated economic context favouring the practice of a sporting activity[anti-stress effect].
The group Les Cercles de la Forme, founded by Bertrand Bonelli, has over 30 years of experience in this fitness world: accompanied by his wife Sandrine Bonelli, they will quickly find the formula for their success by integrating fitness, dance and martial arts for the first time in a gym.
By applying the same recipe and thanks to prudent management methods, they will replicate this success in 7 additional clubs to reach, at the beginning of 2013, a total of 8 rooms achieving a consolidated turnover of 9 M€.
In June 2013, the Circles de la Forme group accelerated its development by completing a capital increase with CM-CIC Capital Finance and OSEO, which contributed nearly €5 million to increase the pace of opening and creating new theatres.
With funding from the CM-CIC, the group created a room at Nation and acquired the Country Club of Chatillon.
Less than a year later, there was a unique opportunity to acquire 8 sports clubs from the Vit’Halles network. Following a competitive process, the quality of the offer proposed by Les Cercles de la Forme was selected among several major players in the sector: the group, integrating more than 160 new employees and welcoming all Vit’Halles subscribers into its network, took nearly three years ahead of its initial development plan.
In order to ensure the integration of these new clubs, Les Cercles de la Forme has planned to invest more than 3 M€ over the next 24 months.
Thus, with this complete network of the Paris Intramuros area and by offering the widest range of group courses on the market, the Circles de la Forme group perfectly meets the expectations of this market and further asserts its position as a credible challenger to the leading Parisian cinema network.
