Meaningful Partners Acquires Fitness Ventures, the second largest Crunch Fitness Franchisee

LOS ANGELES and AUSTIN, Texas, Aug. 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Meaningful Partners, LLC today announced the closing of its acquisition of Fitness Ventures, LLC, the second largest Crunch Fitness franchisee. Founded by CEO Brian Hibbard in 2016, Fitness Ventures is a leading health and wellness platform that currently owns and operates 47 locations with rights to develop clubs in multiple geographies across the United States.

With over 2.5 million systemwide members and 460 locations, Crunch Fitness is the fastest-growing big-box franchised fitness club system in the high-value, low-price (HVLP) category. Crunch has redefined HVLP with its comprehensive gym experience, with top-quality cardio and strength training equipment, circuit training, and HIITZone™ functional training area with indoor turf, starting at $9.99 per month. Crunch's members also enjoy various value-added amenities, such as personal training, fitness assessments, Relax & Recover®️ services, advanced HIIT classes, and childcare.

"We are extremely excited about our partnership with Meaningful Partners as we continue to execute on our de novo and M&A growth strategy," said Brian Hibbard, CEO, Fitness Ventures. "The Meaningful team's background and experience in rapid scaling of multi-unit locations nationally makes them an ideal partner for our next growth phase. Our team is energized and excited to get to work."

"Crunch Fitness provides one of the most relevant sets of offerings at deep value, meeting a long-term consumer theme of quality at value," said Amin Maredia, Co-Founder & Managing Partner, Meaningful Partners. "Under Brian's vision and leadership, Fitness Ventures has systematically become the second-largest franchisee and has built an exceptional team, capabilities, and winning culture well-positioned for growth. These capabilities and an exceptionally talented and dedicated management team make this an exciting partnership and investment opportunity for Meaningful Partners."

Jim Rowley, CEO, Crunch Fitness, shares his respect for Meaningful Partners and its accomplishments.

 "We welcome Meaningful Partners to the Crunch family through their significant investment in Fitness Ventures," said Rowley. "This partnership reflects Meaningful Partners' progressive view on Purposeful Growth Capital, a philosophy that aligns perfectly with Crunch's commitment to innovation and excellence in the fitness industry. Amin's leadership and vision have made a profound impact, and we are excited about the potential this partnership brings." 

Rowley also highlights the incredible success of Brian Hibbard and his team and their trajectory with the Crunch brand.

"Brian and team's achievements with Crunch Fitness have been nothing short of extraordinary, and their appetite for growth continues to drive our expansion and success," said Rowley. "With the support of Meaningful Partners and the dedication of franchise leaders like Brian Hibbard, Crunch Fitness is poised for a future of unprecedented growth and excellence."

Debt for the transaction is financed by the Credit Group of Ares Management.  Greenberg Traurig LLP represented Meaningful Partners, LLC as legal counsel, and Latham & Watkins LLP represented Fitness Ventures, LLC as legal counsel. Harris Williams and MOK Advisors acted as financial advisors to Fitness Ventures, LLC. Terms of the investment were not disclosed.

About Meaningful Partners, LLC

Meaningful Partners, with offices in Los Angeles, CA and Austin, TX, invests in purposeful consumer businesses that have earned customer trust and loyalty, demonstrate a commitment to all stakeholders, and are led by management teams empowering positive purpose and performance. Meaningful Partners makes control and minority equity investments typically ranging from $10 million to $75+ million in lower-middle market and high-growth companies. The firm is led by an experienced investor and operator management team that leverages an Expert Community of 45+ CEO/Founders and discipline experts with over 850+ years of collective experience who bring relevant domain expertise to help accelerate the growth and impact at our partner companies. More at www.meaningfulpartners.com

About Fitness Ventures, LLC

Founded in 2016 by Brian Hibbard, Fitness Ventures, LLC is one of the fastest-growing franchises within the Crunch Fitness system. The Company operates 47 locations across twenty-five states, with several more in development. With a unique operating and development strategy and a keen focus on execution, Fitness Ventures, LLC operates some of the highest volume Crunch locations in the system and boasts industry-leading financial returns. More at Home - Fitness Ventures, LLC

About Crunch Fitness 
Crunch is a gym that believes in making serious exercise fun by fusing fitness and entertainment and pioneering a philosophy of 'No Judgments.' Crunch serves a fitness community for all kinds of people with all types of goals, exercising all different ways, working it out at the same place together. Today, we are renowned for creating one-of-a-kind group fitness classes and unique programming for our wildly diverse members. Headquartered in New York City, Crunch serves 2.5 million members with over 460 gyms worldwide in 41 states, the District of Columbia, Australia, Canada, Costa Rica, Portugal, Puerto Rico, and Spain. Crunch is rapidly expanding across the U.S. and around the globe. More at www.crunch.com

SOURCE Meaningful Partners