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Mainstream model
Major European operators planning to scale through franchising, Jetts Fitness and Crunch Fitness establish footholds in India and US reformer brands eye Europe. Kath Hudson rounds up the main action in franchising over the past year
Franchising has become mainstream. The three biggest operators in Europe – PureGym, Basic-Fit and RSG Group – have all announced plans to use the model to grow in new territories.
Basic-Fit plans to achieve double-digit growth in 2026 and a key part of this plan is to use franchising to scale in France and Germany, as well as break into new territories. The acquisition of Clever Fit, in November 2025, launched its franchise business and the company says that strong interest for both Clever Fit and Basic-Fit is being shown across the DACH region.
The company currently has more than 1,660 sites and is aiming for 3,000 to 3,500 by 2030. It expects to “accelerate the franchise club growth in due course.”
Jörg Fockenberg, vice president of strategy, expansion and franchise at RSG Group, told HCM that the franchise concept for McFit has been finalised and discussions are ongoing with potential partners in a number of countries. Gold’s Gym – which was acquired in 2020 – has provided strong expertise in building and managing a global franchise model, implementing brand standards internationally and applying best practices in franchisee/partner support.
“McFIT is our strongest European brand, and has recently been refreshed, so opening it to franchising is the next logical step to make the concept accessible globally in previously untapped markets,” he says. “While we focus our company-owned expansion in our core markets of Germany, Austria and Italy, franchising creates significant additional room for growth beyond those markets.
“Franchising offers the opportunity to grow faster in markets where we are not operating company-owned clubs, scale more efficiently and strengthen our global brand presence.”
Having improved its revenue by 23 per cent last year and opening a record number of clubs, bringing its estate to more than 700, PureGym has said it has a medium-term ambition of more than doubling the size of its gym estate, with particularly strong growth expected in the US.
When the UK-based, high-value, low-price operator acquired Blink Fitness in 2024 it made no secret of the fact that franchise could be one of the ways to achieve its rollout ambitions in the US. The company already has some franchised clubs in the Middle East.
CEO, Clive Chesser, says: “Looking ahead, there’s a clear opportunity to capitalise on the momentum we achieved in 2025. We have a high-quality pipeline and expect, across our geographies, to open even more sites in 2026.”
“Franchising is the next logical step to make McFit accessible globally in previously untapped markets” – Jörg Fockenberg, RSG Group
THE REFORMER PILATES BOOM
Given that reformer Pilates is growing as a trend, it’s not surprising that there is a lot of activity around it, with US players looking to Europe. Jetset Pilates, which has more than 385 studios open or in development globally, is set to open its first UK studio in London in mid-July. This is the first of a series of London sites, and there are plans to expand to additional UK cities from 2027 onwards.
Bert Albertse, CEO of Jetset Pilates says: “The UK has been a priority market for some time and London is a natural starting point. Shoreditch is the first of several sites we have lined up across the capital, and we will continue to expand at pace.”
Headed up by Sarah Luna – former president of Xponential’s Club Pilates – Pilates Addiction is actively scaling across the US. It’s still in early rollout but sold more than 250 territories across 23 US states within eight months of launching.
“Pilates Addiction is demonstrating the power of purposeful growth, operational diligence, and community-driven impact,” says Luna. “Our franchise partners have brought our vision to life in new markets, elevated the member experience through disciplined execution, and proven that commitment to quality creates sustainable success. I’m inspired by our network’s achievements and energised by the opportunity ahead to expand our footprint.”
In Europe, Tribute Brands has signed a master franchise agreement with Let’s Go Fitness in Switzerland, to roll out 20 PILAT3S studios in key cities over the next five years. Tribute Brands continues to see strong momentum for the concept through partnerships with Urban Gym Group, Fitness First, Holmes Place, and more recently Alliance Leisure UK, for both standalone and boutique in gym studios.
Although not a franchisor, another US reformer operator, Solidcore is scoping out main cities in Europe and looking for partners to put in a flag in the continent.
“The UK has been a priority market for some time, and London is a natural starting point. Shoreditch is the first of several sites we have lined up across the capital” – Bert Albertse, Jetset Pilates
SCALING FAST
A number of companies are opening clubs so fast that it’s hard to keep track. Anytime Fitness announced a major milestone in 2025, by opening a club a day. This puts parent company, Purpose Brands, in an excellent position to hit its systemwide goal of 10 million members and 10,000 units by 2030.
Much of the growth was international, including India, Malaysia, Australia, Japan and Austria and new clubs are opening this year across the Gulf Cooperation Council, including United Arab Emirates; Kuwait and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
“Achieving 365 club openings in 2025 validates our global expansion model and demonstrates the scalability of the Anytime Fitness system,” said Tom Leverton, CEO, Purpose Brands. “This one-per-day tempo reflects years of strategic investment in master franchisee selection, operational infrastructure, and support systems.
“We’re thrilled that this trajectory positions us to benefit the health and well-being of millions of members worldwide.”
Another Purpose Brand company, Orangetheory Fitness has announced plans for more than 100 sites in 10 years driven by regional master franchisor Orangetheory Japan Company. The first studio openings will be in Tokyo and surrounding areas, building upon the success of existing OTF studios.
Xtreme Fitness Gyms is continuing its rapid expansion across Poland, with more than 170 clubs now open nationwide and intensive development planned for the next 12 to 18 months. CEO, James Cotton, told HCM: “Xtreme Brands is planning more than 100 openings across its franchise concepts. The focus remains on both large and smaller cities, particularly in areas where access to modern, professionally managed fitness clubs is still limited.
“The long-term opportunity remains substantial. Poland is still an underserved market, particularly outside the largest urban centres. We believe there is still room for further expansion, especially in smaller and mid-sized towns where access to professionally run gyms is limited.”
Another important area over the past year has been the continued development of the wider Xtreme Brands ecosystem, including Xtreme Kids, which reflects a growing demand for services built around active lifestyles.
HEADING TO INDIA
With a penetration rate of 1 per cent, India offers lots of opportunity and two brands to put a flag there this year are Crunch Fitness and Jetts Fitness.
In 2025, Crunch entered India through a major franchise expansion agreement, committing to at least 75 gyms and opening Crunch Noida, the brand’s first location in India and South Asia. “Crunch Fitness has achieved many significant business milestones in the last year,” says president, Chequan Lewis. “The brand continued to roll out Crunch 3.0 and has grown to more than 550 gyms with over 3.5 million members around the world.
“Crunch plans to open 100 new clubs in 2026. The company has a vision to create a world with more Crunch, and is uniquely poised to plant its flag in more markets around the world. Crunch will also enter more new international markets in the next two years.”
Financially, Crunch strengthened its market position through a strategic investment from Leonard Green & Partners, the investment ushering in an exciting new phase of accelerated development for the company.
Jetts Fitness launched its first Indian site in New Delhi in March. The 10,000 square foot site offers an extensive gym, group exercise, reformer Pilates, recovery facilities and a members’ lounge. Six more clubs are in the pipeline.
Jetts Fitness CEO, Elaine Jobson, says of the master franchisor: “Their robust pipeline of upcoming locations highlights the strength of our master franchising model and our commitment to making fitness more available across the globe. India represents a tremendous growth opportunity and this is a critical step towards realising our vision of becoming the world’s most loved training gym.”
Jetts also diversified into wellness last year with the creation of franchising company, BeWell Brands. This was launched with a joint venture with New Zealand-based wellness company, O-Studio, and followed up with another partnership with burlesque-fitness provider, Fitesque.
Formerly part of Xponential Fitness, Stride was divested two years ago and is now being taken forward by Shaun Grove, a long-term executive of Xponential, who had been president of both Club Pilates and Rumble. He has reimagined the brand and is ready to start the rollout, having just launched its flagship in California at the company’s headquarters.
Grove says he spotted a niche in the market to blend running and strength training in a group exercise format, with the addition of recovery modalities, including anti-gravity chairs, massage, compression therapy, red light therapy and a motion plate.
“We’re confident – I’ve been in boutique fitness franchising for almost 20 years,” says Grove. “What we have here is a modality that’s tried and tested, it’s not a trend, it’s incredibly impactful, and I think it’s something that will last for a long time.”
For the immediate future the focus will be on expansion in the US, with a mid-term ambition of 150 quality sites, but Grove says he is already receiving some international interest.
Women’s fitness franchise, Curves, is rebuilding after a decline and is currently launching a new era with brighter, more energetic club aesthetics and doubling down on its 30-minute circuit, primarily aimed at women over 45.
Sales director, Paige Littlejohns, says Curves is taking a strategic approach to rebuilding and strengthening the franchise network across the UK and Europe: “In the UK, we see strong potential to reintroduce Curves into key urban and suburban territories where demand for women-only fitness is growing.
“Across Europe growth will be more accelerated. Spain remains a key market with significant scaling potential, while Italy is a renewed focus following recent sales momentum. Overall, our target is to achieve 50 franchise sales across our European territories, driven by a mix of single and multi-unit investors.”
The original bootcamp, Barry’s, hit a milestone earlier this year by opening its 100th studio, on Wall Street in New York. “Opening our 100th studio is an incredible moment for Barry’s and for the global community that has grown with us over the past 27 years,” says CEO, JJ Gantt.
The 27-year-old brand which started in West Hollywood now operates in 19 countries and opened its first site in Ireland last year. After taking on investment from Princeton Equity Group it’s looking to expand into more territories and markets with Greece on the cards.
GROWTH STRATEGIES
Xponential Fitness is still opening sites across its slimmed down portfolio, but the rate of expansion has slowed while the leadership team work to get the house in order. A review of strategic alternatives to maximise shareholder value is underway, which include a sale, merger or another strategic or financial transaction.
Independent board directors at Xponential Fitness, Rachel Lee and Lily Yang, say: “Our board is focused on maximising value for shareholders, and we’re confident that undertaking a thorough review of the opportunities available will determine the best path forward.”
Mike Nuzzo, CEO, said, “Xponential has built a differentiated platform with a leading portfolio of boutique fitness brands and an asset-light franchise model. While the board conducts this process, the Xponential team is continuing to execute our strategy to position our brands for success.”
A brand which has been reinvigorated with Tom Dowd at the helm, Fit House of Brands has ambitions to be the most profitable studio business in the world by EBITDA.
“We’re one of the fastest growing franchise operations in the world from a unit perspective and when you look at our network metrics, they’re off the charts. We’re very focused,” Dowd told HCM earlier this year.
Fit House of Brands offers three different franchise options – strength training concept, F45, and two Pilates franchises – FS8 and Vaura.
It currently has 1,500 locations in 55 countries and is aiming for 200 new studios globally a year – half in the US and the rest split between Canada, New Zealand Australia. It is also looking for suitable master franchisees in Europe.
A modality in the hot training market is coming soon. “The concept will be tied to recovery story and will be more of a community or third space,” says Dowd. “We also think sauna has potential and we will be dropping in different elements that make sense, such as sleep interventions.”
