Australian fitness brands Fitness First Australia and Jetts Fitness are set to be put on the market, with owner Quadrant Private Equity preparing to launch a formal auction for its broader Fitness & Lifestyle Group early next year.

According to the Australian Financial Review, JPMorgan is advising Quadrant on a two-stage sale process that will cover the group’s entire portfolio of six brands.

Fitness & Lifestyle Group describes itself as the biggest corporate-owned gym operator in the Asia-Pacific region, with six brands across 330 locations in Australia, New Zealand, Thailand and Singapore.

Quadrant has owned the group since 2016.

In addition to Fitness First Australia and Jetts Fitness New Zealand and Thailand, the group includes the Australian arm of high-intensity training chain Barry’s Bootcamp.

Its Australian footprint includes dozens of Fitness First clubs nationwide and four Barry’s Bootcamp studios across Sydney and Melbourne, alongside the Jetts and Zap Fitness networks. 

Barry’s Bootcamp entered the Australian market in 2018, far from its roots in West Hollywood, and remains one of the group’s premium offerings. 

The group was reportedly hammered by the industry-wide impact of Covid-19, but managed to bounce back to earnings above pre-Covid levels, the AFR reported. 

The two-stage auction process is reportedly slated to get underway next year.