Affordable fitness brand Blink Fitness announced that PureGym has been selected as a winning bidder for a substantial portion of the company’s assets following an auction pursuant to its court-supervised sale process. PureGym, a global gym operator, will acquire Blink’s corporate operations and a substantial portion of Blink’s locations, with a focus on New York and New Jersey.
“We are pleased that PureGym was selected as a winning bidder in our sale process, and we are excited to be moving forward with new owners who believe in our business and will deliver on our mission to democratize fitness for all,” said Guy Harkless, president and CEO of Blink Fitness.
A value fitness chain based in London, PureGym has approximately 1.6 million members across over 500 gyms across the United Kingdom, Denmark and Switzerland operating under the PureGym, Fitness World and Basefit brands respectively. In September, it announced plans to serve as a stalking horse bidder for Blink, offering a base purchase price of $105 million in cash. Blink filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in August 2024.
“The acquisition of Blink Fitness is transformational for PureGym in the U.S., a market we have been operating in since 2021,” said Humphrey Cobbold, CEO of PureGym. “It gives our group a meaningful presence in the country and a strong foothold in the attractive New York and New Jersey area. U.S. expansion has been an important part of our growth plan, which is why we actively participated in the Chapter 11 process and entered into an APA [asset purchase agreement] with Blink Fitness. We have, over several months, spent a considerable amount of management time and resources getting to know the business, and the management team and have developed an excellent understanding of both its prospects and the opportunity it represents.”
Cobbold announced plans to apply PureGym’s model to Blink and make investments and upgrades.