Private Equity Gyms: Top Firms in 2026

Key Facts

• Over 60% of the top 20 US gym chains are now backed by private equity, making fitness franchises one of the most PE-saturated consumer sectors.
• More than 300 fitness franchise brands have been acquired by PE firms since 2019, with deal activity concentrated in the high-value, low-price (HVLP) segment.
• The global fitness market reached $257 billion in 2024 and is growing at a 5.6% compound annual rate.
• US gym membership expanded from 64.2 million in 2019 to 87.3 million in 2024, providing a durable membership base for franchisee roll-up strategies.
• The single largest confirmed HVLP franchisee transaction on record is Olympus Partners' $675 million-plus acquisition of Excel Fitness Holdings (90 Planet Fitness units) in April 2022.
• Fifth Third Bank alone deployed approximately $4 billion in debt capital for Planet Fitness and Crunch Fitness franchisees between 2021 and 2024.
• HVLP gym memberships priced at $10 to $30 per month have demonstrated recession resilience, with PE-backed platforms consistently outperforming the broader fitness market.

Fitness Franchise Private Equity: Market Overview

The investment thesis behind private equity gyms centers on a structurally fragmented market that rewards consolidation. For decades, individual owner-operators dominated gym franchising, making acquisition targets relatively inexpensive and enabling PE-backed platforms to accumulate units with limited leverage. Three major brands anchor HVLP deal activity: Planet Fitness (2,722 clubs, approximately 19.7 million members as of end-2024), Crunch Fitness (500 gyms, 3 million members), and Anytime Fitness (5,000-plus global locations, 5 million members).

The fitness market follows a barbell shape. Luxury clubs like Equinox and Life Time perform at the premium end, while HVLP franchises capture budget-conscious consumers. The mid-tier has largely been squeezed out, concentrating PE deal flow at both extremes but especially in the value segment. Planet Fitness spends approximately $200 million annually on national media, providing franchisee operators with marketing infrastructure that individual owners could never replicate.

Geographic deal activity concentrates in the Sun Belt. Florida, Texas, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Arizona, and California represent the primary franchisee expansion corridor, driven by population growth, favorable real estate costs, and high consumer density. PE firm headquarters cluster in New York (Crunch Fitness corporate, BRS & Co) and Los Angeles (Leonard Green & Partners). Significant mid-market presence spans Dallas (Trive Capital), Boston (Berkshire Partners), and Philadelphia (Hidden River Strategic Capital). The subscription model generating predictable recurring revenue, combined with HVLP's demonstrated recession resilience, has attracted buyout funds, growth equity investors, and middle-market general partners (GPs) alike.

Fitness Franchise PE: Firm Comparison

More than a dozen PE firms have made material investments in gym franchises since 2019. The firms below represent the broadest range of strategies and asset sizes currently active in the market.

The table captures three tiers of activity. Large-cap fund managers (Leonard Green, TPG, Sixth Street) target franchisor-level acquisitions or substantial growth investments. Middle-market firms (HGGC, Sentinel, Olympus, Rainier, BRS) execute franchisee roll-ups where the fragmented ownership base creates reliable acquisition pipelines. North Castle Partners occupies a distinct specialist niche, deploying exclusively in health and active living businesses across the lower middle market.

Top Picks by Investment Strategy

Largest AUM in Fitness PE: Leonard Green & Partners ($70B+ AUM) acquired majority control of Crunch Fitness from TPG in April 2025, taking direct ownership of a 500-gym global brand with 3 million members.

Strongest Returns Track Record: TPG ($246B AUM) generated 176% member growth and opened 275 new Crunch locations during its five-year hold before exiting to Leonard Green. This is one of the most documented value-creation runs in fitness franchise PE.

Flexible Capital Leader: Sixth Street ($115B+ AUM) invested in CR Fitness Holdings (the largest Crunch franchisee at roughly 90 clubs) in October 2025 alongside existing majority holder North Castle Partners. The firm demonstrated its ability to enter complex co-investment structures with tailored capital solutions.

Top Sector Specialist: North Castle Partners is the only firm in the market with a 25-plus year exclusive mandate in healthy, active, and sustainable living businesses. Its portfolio spans CR Fitness, Barry's, SLT, Equinox, and Octane Fitness.

Most Active Mid-Market Consolidator: Sentinel Capital Partners acquired Bandon Holdings (213 Anytime Fitness locations across 24 states) in July 2022, the largest single Anytime Fitness franchisee acquisition on record.

Strongest Long-Hold Growth Story: BRS & Co grew EoS Fitness from 16 company-owned locations at acquisition in 2015 to 175-plus gyms across seven states. The reported valuation approaching $1 billion in 2025 reflects a decade of organic and add-on growth.

Best Middle Market Operator Model: HGGC backed Grand Fitness Partners (formerly PF Atlantic Holdings) starting with 42 Planet Fitness units in November 2021 and expanded to 80 locations through new development and three targeted acquisitions.

Top 11 Fitness Franchise PE Firms in Detail

Leonard Green & Partners

The defining deal in fitness franchise private equity belongs to Leonard Green, which closed its majority acquisition of Crunch Fitness from TPG in April 2025. With $70 billion-plus in AUM, the Los Angeles firm typically pursues buyouts and going-private transactions in consumer services, healthcare, and business services. Crunch arrived with 500-plus gyms in 41 US states and seven countries, 3 million members, and 90 new locations planned for 2025. The expansion uses a next-generation Crunch 3.0 design. Leonard Green inherits a system that more than doubled its unit count during TPG's ownership. The consumer investment team, led by Managing Partner John Danhakl, has deep experience with franchise and subscription-driven business models. Crunch is a natural extension of its existing portfolio construction approach.

TPG

TPG's growth equity arm earned its reputation in fitness by executing one of the sector's most documented value-creation runs. When TPG Growth invested in Crunch Fitness in 2019, the brand operated roughly 1.2 million members across approximately 225 gyms. Over five years, Crunch added 2.1 million members, opened 275 new locations, and ranked first in Entrepreneur's Franchise 500 two consecutive years. TPG's $246 billion platform spans private equity, impact, credit, and real estate, with the Crunch investment falling under the growth equity mandate. Gym franchisee operators evaluating brand-level PE partners should note that TPG's investment thesis prioritized system-wide expansion over operational consolidation. This yields a very different growth profile than a typical mid-market roll-up.

Sixth Street

Sixth Street brings institutional-grade flexible capital to fitness investments that do not fit neatly into traditional PE structures. The firm manages $115 billion-plus across 700-plus team members and 290-plus investment professionals globally. Its dedicated consumer investing team, co-led by Kayvan Heravi and Jenny Walsh, completed a strategic growth investment in CR Fitness Holdings in October 2025, backing the largest Crunch franchisee's plan to open 100-plus additional clubs over five years. Sixth Street's broader fitness and wellness portfolio also includes Equinox Group and Mindbody, demonstrating a cross-sector view of consumer health. Golub Capital arranged a new senior credit facility alongside the CR Fitness investment, illustrating Sixth Street's ability to structure capital stacks that combine equity and debt.

North Castle Partners

No firm in the market has a longer or more focused track record in fitness franchise PE than North Castle Partners. The firm's investment mandate covers fitness, recreation, sports, nutrition, beauty, and personal care, with explicit orientation toward "healthy, active, and sustainable living" consumer businesses. Its portfolio includes CR Fitness Holdings, Barry's Bootcamp, SLT, Equinox, and Octane Fitness, among others. Managing Partner Jon Canarick is among the most-cited voices on fitness franchise investment dynamics. North Castle grew the CR Fitness platform from 19 Crunch clubs in 2019 to approximately 90 clubs by 2025, then brought in Sixth Street as a co-investor to fund the next expansion phase.

HGGC

HGGC's investment in Grand Fitness Partners illustrates the Planet Fitness roll-up thesis at its most systematic. The middle-market PE firm backed PF Atlantic Holdings with 42 Planet Fitness locations in November 2021. It rebranded the platform as Grand Fitness Partners and grew it to 80 locations by 2026. New unit development and three bolt-on acquisitions in Virginia, California, Florida, and New Jersey drove the expansion. Principal Phil Sampognaro attributed the original investment thesis to the "barbelling of the gym landscape." He cited recession resilience and subscription-model clarity in the HVLP segment as the core rationale. Multi-unit operators with geographic diversification and consistent unit-level EBITDA will find HGGC's evaluation criteria closely aligned with their own performance metrics.

Sentinel Capital Partners

Sentinel Capital Partners made the boldest single move in Anytime Fitness consolidation when it acquired Bandon Holdings in July 2022. At the time, Austin-based Bandon operated 213 Anytime Fitness locations across 24 states, making it the largest Anytime Fitness franchisee in the system. Sentinel's focus on middle-market consumer and services businesses positions it as a natural fit for large franchisee platforms that have already demonstrated multi-geography proof of concept. The Bandon deal required managing significant complexity: 213 units across 24 states means distinct labor markets, real estate profiles, and consumer demographics. Sellers evaluating franchise consolidation partners should benchmark Bandon's unit scale as a reference point for Sentinel's minimum deal size appetite.

Olympus Partners

Olympus Partners holds the record for the largest publicly confirmed HVLP franchisee transaction: the $675 million-plus acquisition of Excel Fitness Holdings, operator of 90-plus Planet Fitness units, in April 2022. That price point established a valuation benchmark that reshaped how PE investors and debt providers approached HVLP franchisee exit planning. Olympus focuses on middle-market consumer and services businesses and brings both operational capital and institutional credibility to large franchisee platforms preparing for their next growth phase. LPs building alternatives portfolios with consumer exposure should note the Excel Fitness deal's concentrated profile: a single-brand, single-strategy asset with limited revenue diversification.

Rainier Partners

Rainier Partners built a focused position in Anytime Fitness consolidation through its Omega Fitness platform, which now operates 120 locations across California, Florida, Illinois, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. The platform added 21 locations with the acquisition of MDS Fitness in September 2024, demonstrating active add-on acquisition execution. Omega's geographic footprint spans five states across distinct regional market types, from dense California metros to Midwest suburban corridors. Rainier's consumer franchise focus and mid-market profile make it one of the more active Anytime Fitness system consolidators, operating alongside Sentinel Capital as a parallel roll-up player within the same franchisor ecosystem.

BRS & Co

BRS & Co owns perhaps the most compelling long-hold value creation story in private equity gyms. When the New York-based firm acquired EoS Fitness in 2015, the company operated 16 locations. By 2025, EoS had grown to 175-plus company-owned gyms across Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Nevada, Southern California, Texas, and Utah, with memberships starting at $9.99 per month. With a reported valuation approaching $1 billion in 2025, the implied return on a 10-year hold ranks among the strongest in mid-market consumer PE. EoS operates on a company-owned model rather than a franchise structure, giving BRS & Co direct operational control over unit economics and expansion pacing.

Berkshire Partners

Berkshire Partners pursued a fundamentally different angle in the gym sector when it co-invested with Eric Roza to acquire CrossFit in July 2020. Rather than consolidating franchisee operators, Berkshire took a growth equity position in the world's largest affiliate gym network: 15,000-plus affiliated gyms across 158 countries. Roza joined as CEO post-acquisition, bringing a software entrepreneur's operating mindset to a fitness brand whose reputation had suffered under its founder. The investment thesis centered on brand rehabilitation, international expansion, and monetization of the affiliate relationship rather than unit count consolidation. Boston-based Berkshire's broader portfolio spans consumer, healthcare, and industrial businesses, with the CrossFit investment reflecting its consumer health conviction.

Trive Capital

Trive Capital entered the Crunch ecosystem in June 2024 with an investment in JF Fitness of North America, a 24-unit Crunch franchisee operating in Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama. The Dallas-based firm manages $8 billion-plus in regulatory AUM and specializes in operationally intensive middle-market businesses. Trive co-invested with 808 Capital Partners, acquiring JF Fitness alongside Team Roldan's eight Crunch gyms. The combined platform ranks among the five largest Crunch franchisees by unit count. Managing Director Jared Reyes and Partner Shravan Thadani lead the consumer investing practice. Trive's Southeast operational footprint positions it well as the Crunch system continues expanding in Sun Belt markets under Leonard Green's ownership.

Investment Trends Shaping Fitness Franchise PE

HVLP Franchisee Consolidation Accelerates

The structural consolidation of individual HVLP franchisee operators into PE-backed platforms is the dominant activity in fitness franchise PE. Multiple Crunch franchisees changed hands in 2024 alone. Meaningful Partners acquired Fitness Ventures LLC (47 gyms, 25 states) in August, Trive Capital and 808 Capital backed JF Fitness in June, and Mayfair Capital acquired Baseline Fitness (100-plus Planet Fitness clubs). As platforms consolidate, average deal sizes grow. Exit buyers increasingly must acquire other PE-backed platforms rather than individual operators.

GLP-1 Drugs Expanding the Gym Addressable Market

Weight-loss drugs in the GLP-1 class are creating a new demand driver for gym memberships among patients seeking to maintain muscle mass during pharmacological weight loss. PE investors are incorporating this trend into their investment theses, particularly for HVLP gyms where the low membership price creates minimal friction for first-time members. GLP-1 adoption, combined with post-pandemic fitness demand recovery, drove US gym membership to 87.3 million in 2024. That figure sits well above the pre-pandemic level of 64.2 million.

Strength Training Boom Broadens Demographic Base

Machine-based Pilates, free weight training, and functional strength programming have driven a cross-demographic shift in gym usage. Women and Gen Z members now represent a growing share of HVLP gym traffic. Crunch's Crunch 3.0 club design, featuring expanded strength equipment and dedicated recovery studios, directly reflects this shift. PE-backed platforms that invested early in equipment and layout upgrades are demonstrating stronger same-club sales growth. Planet Fitness reported systemwide same-club sales growth of 6.1% for Q1 2025.

Boutique Fitness Divergence

Boutique studio performance in 2024 showed a clear split between concepts with durable unit economics and those facing fad-cycle risk. Club Pilates (1,029 domestic units, average unit sales of $984,270 in 2024) continued expanding, while kickboxing franchise 9Round declined from 494 units in 2021 to 200 units by end-2024. CycleBar dropped from 259 locations to 189 over two years. PE fund managers are concentrating capital in machine-based formats (Club Pilates, strength training studios) and away from cardio-intensive boutique concepts with higher attrition and lower recurring-revenue stability.

Sale-Leaseback as Expansion Capital

Franchisee platforms that own their real estate are increasingly executing sale-leaseback transactions to free capital for new unit development without diluting equity holders. This mechanism is particularly relevant for larger platforms where individual property values range from $2 million to $5 million per location. Fifth Third Bank's credit facilities, which range from $50 million to $575 million for HVLP franchisee clients, are often structured around going-concern cash flows enhanced by sale-leaseback proceeds.

How to Evaluate Fitness Franchise PE Firms

The most important filter for any franchisee or founder approaching PE is unit-level EBITDA. Firms active in this space require a minimum of $150,000 in unit-level EBITDA per location to open a PE conversation. The preferred threshold is $300,000 per unit. A platform generating $50,000 to $75,000 per unit on a $250,000 investment falls below the threshold for institutional capital, regardless of total unit count.

Geographic diversification is the second critical criterion. Single-geography concentration creates lending risk and limits exit options for a future acquirer. PE firms require proof of concept across multiple cities and at least two to three distinct regional markets before committing capital. A franchisee operating exclusively in one metropolitan market, even if profitable, will face structural discount in any PE valuation.

Track record matters differently depending on the firm type. For large-cap fund managers like TPG and Leonard Green, evaluate their exit history at the franchisor level. TPG's Crunch exit demonstrated 176% member growth and a clean strategic sale. For middle-market firms like HGGC and Sentinel, assess their operational value-add capability. Grand Fitness Partners grew from 42 to 80 Planet Fitness locations under HGGC, but the key question is whether the management team or the fund drove that growth. For specialist firms like North Castle Partners, audit sector network depth, including relationships with franchisors, lenders, and potential co-investors.

LPs evaluating fitness PE as an asset class should note that fund-level return data for most mid-market participants is not publicly disclosed. The Olympus Partners transaction ($675 million for a 90-unit platform) provides one key benchmark. BRS & Co's decade-long EoS Fitness hold, with an implied valuation approaching $1 billion, offers another.

Which Firm Fits Your Needs?

Franchisee operators with 20-plus units, multi-state diversification, and unit-level EBITDA above $300,000 per location are best positioned to approach HGGC, Rainier Partners, or Trive Capital. All three have recently executed mid-scale platform investments in the $50 million to $200 million equity range. Operators building in the Crunch system will find Trive, Meaningful Partners, and North Castle most familiar with the brand's franchisor dynamics and development pipeline.

LPs building diversified alternatives portfolios with consumer exposure should look at the large-cap managers first. Leonard Green ($70B+ AUM) now holds the Crunch Fitness brand directly. TPG ($246B AUM) and Sixth Street ($115B+ AUM) maintain dedicated consumer investing teams that continue to source fitness opportunities. These platforms offer the fund size and LP terms that institutional allocators require.

Founders or operators considering selling a fitness brand should look at Berkshire Partners, which acquired CrossFit at the brand level, and Leonard Green, which executed the Crunch acquisition from TPG. North Castle Partners is the top specialist for boutique and premium wellness concepts, given its portfolio history with Barry's Bootcamp, SLT, and Equinox. EoS Fitness's potential $1 billion exit through BRS & Co is the most anticipated near-term transaction in the company-owned gym segment. The deal will reset valuation benchmarks for that format upon completion.

Methodology

This article was compiled from publicly available transaction data, industry publications, operator disclosure documents, and fitness market research covering the private equity gyms landscape as of 2026. Firm profiles are based exclusively on confirmed data including announced transactions, disclosed AUM figures, and named portfolio companies. Deal valuations that are not publicly confirmed use "not disclosed" designations rather than estimates. The selection criteria for featured firms prioritize those with closed transactions in the HVLP franchisee roll-up and fitness franchisor acquisition space since 2019. Market statistics reflect available industry benchmarks from fitness market reports cited across public sources.