Frasers Group, owner of Everlast Gyms, has acquired the assets of WIT Fitness from administrators RG Insolvency, adding the brand to its portfolio.
A health club operator and sports retail specialist, WIT has strong CrossFit connections.
The company’s boutique gym in London – at One New Change, near St Paul’s Cathedral – will retain the WIT name, while WIT’s retail arm will complement Frasers’ Sports Direct sportswear retailing business.
It’s not yet known if Frasers will roll out more WIT locations as a second brand to complement Everlast Gyms, however, there could be a good fit for the company, with WIT Fitness functioning as a premium offering, aligning with Frasers elevation strategy.
WIT Fitness appointed Matt Brewster as CEO in 2022, at which time founder, Dan Williams, moved into a chief brand officer role.
Under Brewster, the company did a crowdfund in Q3 2022 with plans for global expansion, telling investors in September 2022 that the business was ‘in great shape’ with “400,000 customers and revenues that had grown five times over”.
Accounts filed for that year show the company ended up losing nearly £4m in the 12 months to December 2022.
The business had also been backed by VGC, but the company is no longer showing WIT as being part of its portfolio.
Williams was recently involved in brokering a deal which saw London Boutique operator Digme purchase Orangetheory’s four existing sites London sites and set out to drive the rollout of Orangetheory in the UK.
