One of the largest Planet Fitness franchise groups, Excel Fitness Holdings, LLC, located in Austin, TX, was purchased by private equity firm Olympus Partners of Stamford, CT, for an undisclosed amount.
Olympus purchased Excel Fitness Holdings from private investment firm Altamont Capital Partners, which had owned Excel Fitness since 2016.
Excel Fitness Holdings, which Excel CEO CJ Bouchard leads, operates more than 90 clubs in Austin, Dallas and Fort Worth, TX; Northwest Arkansas, Raleigh-Durham, NC, Tulsa, OK, and Virginia.
Excel’s clubs are located in high-growth U.S. markets, allowing the company to expand its footprint through development and marketing, Bouchard said. Excel plans to operate more than 100 locations by the end of 2022, with 80 clubs left to build.
“The Planet Fitness brand has done an incredible job cultivating a welcoming environment for the large percentage of the population who have never belonged to a gym or find traditional gym settings intimidating,” Matt Boyd, principal at Olympus, said in the announcement. “We are thrilled to be partnering with Excel management, who we believe has developed one of the premier franchises by marrying the proven Planet Fitness concept with exceptional customer service and operational excellence. We look forward to our partnership with CJ and the rest of the Excel team as we further expand the company’s presence in its core markets and beyond.”
