eGym Partners with Highland Capital Europe to Fuel Growth with a $15m Financing Round

MUNICH, July 21, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- eGym, the German-based connected fitness company, received a $15M financing led by Highland Capital Partners Europe with participation from existing investors Bayern Kapital and High-Tech Grunderfonds. The new round of funding will accelerate growth initiatives including international expansion and innovative product development.

By establishing a deep integration of hardware, software, and services, eGym is revolutionizing the $50b gym market. Hugely beneficial to gym operators and gym members alike, eGym's full-stack product portfolio provides granular information about members, and presents gym members a personalised, evolving training plan that is right for them.  

"Our product strategy is unique in the global fitness market," says eGym CEO & co-founder Philipp Roesch-Schlanderer. "We've married state-of-the-art electrical and machine technology, all backed by the power of German engineering, to the advantages of mobile online applications. eGym stands for quick, sustainable fitness training success and more fun in the fitness studio!"

Following the financing, Irena Goldenberg, a partner with Highland Capital Partners Europe, has joined the eGym board of directors as chair of the board. Irena said, "eGym's growth dynamics and capital efficiency are exceptional in our experience. The eGym product suite is unique for an industry that has not been disrupted by the digital revolution.  Led by a terrific entrepreneur, eGym is incredibly well positioned to help fitness club owners and members."

In its first full financial year eGym experienced explosive sales growth and achieved profitability.   "Focusing on finding the best talent has been key to our success," says Philipp Roesch-Schlanderer, "and we are enormously pleased to share our enthusiasm with Highland Capital, gaining a terrific investor for our young company."

eGym offers a full range of 18 strength training machines for all major muscle groups. Fitness club members are able to follow a customized training program enabled by eGym's unique training software. Together with gym trainers, it is possible to analyse and plan a workout on every internet-capable device or via the app on the smartphone. With the eGym Cloud, all exercise results are stored allowing for progress to be monitored closely. Personal training programs are automatically synchronised to each machine as soon as the user occupies the equipment.

The introduction of the eGym Trainer App at the FIBO industry fair in April 2014 marks a new milestone for member support in the studio: it provides fitness studios and personal trainers with a complete overview of the membership that is currently active in the gym.

eGym supports fitness studios in attracting new members through targeted on- and offline marketing activities.

"We want to support studio operators on every level of their value chain and make them more successful," said Philipp Roesch-Schlanderer. "This applies for the three major areas: customer acquisition, customer support as well as up- and cross-selling to existing members. The eGym Cloud, which brings together all relevant information, plays an essential role in making this possible."

In addition to Germany, Switzerland and Austria, eGym also had significant success in the Netherlands and will soon enter new markets.

About eGym:
eGym develops, builds and sells the most modern high-tech products for the fitness market, including fully-electronic fitness equipment, equipment software eGym PREMIUM for even better and more effective training, the eGym Trainer App and eGym.de – the contact point for online personal fitness. eGym enables a fitness experience that is more diverse, more effective and healthier, while also increasing the fun of exercising. In this way, eGym is driving the paradigm shift from the necessity of keeping fit to actually looking forward to the next workout.

About Highland Capital Partners Europe:
Through a dedicated European growth equity technology fund, Highland Europe embraces Highland Capital Partners' global mission of helping great people build great companies. Founded in 1988, Highland has raised over $3 billion in committed capital and invested in more than 225 companies, resulting in category-defining businesses across consumer and enterprise technology. Investments include, Ask Jeeves, Bromium, Gigamon, Lululemon, LevelUp, Lycos, MapQuest, Nebula, NewVoiceMedia, PhotoBox, Privalia, Smart Things, Qihoo 360, Quattro Wireless, Rent the Runway, Starent Networks, Sybase, VistaPrint and wooga. For more information, visit www.hcp.com.

SOURCE Highland Capital Partners Europe