Dublin venture Glofox, a fitness management platform for the boutique gym and studio sector, has been acquired by ABC Fitness Solutions, based in Little Rock, Arkansas.
The transaction is expected to close later this year.
Glofox was founded by former professional rugby player Conor O’Loughlin and his colleagues Finn Hegarty and Anthony Kelly, and all three will continue to be leaders in the combined business.
The Glofox platform allows users to manage all aspects of their business with a streamlined experience for members and staff alike.
Its 220-strong team serves customers in over 80 countries in 17 languages around the world. Like ABC, it provides solutions covering all aspects of running a fitness business, from customer acquisition to billing management, from business intelligence to member engagement.
In Association with
ABC, founded in 1981, said the combined entity will support c. 31 million members across 24,000 fitness locations.
ABC chief executive Bill Davis said: “The Glofox range of solutions, focus on the boutique gym and studio sector, and impressive international reach are compelling and will help cement ABC’s position as a truly global solution provider within the fitness industry.
“When combined with our existing strength in North and Latin America, as well as our software solutions for the personal trainer and commercial fitness club sectors, we now have a combined offering greater than the sum of its parts and unrivalled by any company in the industry.”
Davis added: “The agreement follows the successful strategic acquisitions and integration of Trainerize, GymSales, and FitnessBI that helped enhance ABC’s best-in-class club management software solutions, leading to ABC IGNITE, its next generation and most advanced offering to date.
“From personal trainers to yoga studios, boutique gyms to commercial fitness clubs, the addition of Glofox means ABC can now serve any fitness provider of any size worldwide.”
Conor O’Loughlin, who founded Glofox in 2014, stated: “We are thrilled to become part of ABC, a company that has been a pioneer of the fitness industry for over 40 years.
“To be able to align with a partner that shares the same purpose and values and that can provide additional resources to drive innovation and accelerated international growth is a tremendous advantage to our team and our customers.”
According to Renatus, ABC Fitness Studios was advised on the legals by A&L Goodbody and Kirkland & Ellis. The ALG team was led by Richard Grey, Phil Fogarty and Nadine McMahon.
Glofox received legal counsel from a DLA Piper team led by Eanna Mellett and including Dara McDonald.
Mark Flood of Renatus commented: “Glofox was founded at a similar time to Renatus in 2014, and we often bumped into the founders over the years and shared war stories.
“The lads were always growing fast and balancing keeping liquid and capitalising on the growth that was there for them given the quality of their product. This is never a perfect balance and the costs can run faster than prospective revenues.
“They managed to balance not over diluting but fuelling the tank to get to a point where they have visibility of recurring revenues tracking $30m.
“O'Loughlin who was an accomplished rugby player for Connacht and played for Ireland should be an inspiration to any sports star pivoting into business.
“Greg Canty of Fuzion Communications did an insightful podcast in 2018 at a time when success was not a foregone conclusion. It is well worth a listen to any entrepreneur looking for inspiration.”
