JD Gyms, part of listed company, JD Sports Fashion plc, has sold UAE health club operator, GymNation, to a management buy-out team backed by investors TriCap Investments and Ruya Partners, which has revealed it invested SAR 94 million (US$25 million) private credit into GymNation.

JD Gyms, bought GymNation from Select Investments Ltd in February 2022.

The MBO was led by co-founder Loren Holland and colleagues Frank Afeaki, Ant Martland, William Rasmussen-Dean and Ishan Patil, who are all now significant majority shareholders.

Along with the transaction the company has established an equity incentivisation scheme for its wider management team.

GymNation has also reported that it’s signed four more locations in the UAE and six in Saudi Arabia, while also commencing the formation of trading companies in Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait.

The GymNation team was advised by DLA Piper, Tatsu Partners, Ben Trainor, PwC Middle East and James Wigglesworth at Inflexion Private Equity.