Virgin Active - Two Year News Run

Branson's surprise club visit Fitness First abandons 1bn Singapore flotation; Fitness First has been forced
to abandon its 1bn Singapore flotation after months of extreme market volatility. Club marks a milestone 'VIRGIN ACTIVE ROAD RACE' EVENT TO BE HELD AUG. 27 Virgin gym chain could buy rivals; LEISURE Virgin Active sells controlling stake to CVC but still has eye on flotation Need to know: Stagecoach payouts; Virgin Active sale; Minerva bid unconditional Virgin Active Poised To Announce Sale To CVC Capital Partners -Report Pure Gym raises cash to beef up Virgin snap up fitness centre Virgin muscles in on health club market - EXCLUSIVE BL confirms Virgin Active purchase BL limbers up for 175m Virgin Active deal Sports club exit SocGen quits the gym with red face and 260m British Land Acquires 17 Virgin Active Premium Racket Club Properties for 179 million Leisure; Need to know Virgin to sell gym stake CVC In Exclusive Talks To Buy Virgin Active Stake - Sources Branson offloads stake in gyms; Buyout firm CVC in exclusive talks to take big share of 1 billion Virgin Active chain and bankroll global push Private gyms fall behind as low-cost and public options pick up speed Virgin Active squeezes into Aldersgate. Step into fitness Virgin Active to slim down Esporta rent payments. Virgin has extra muscle after gym chain merger
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Virgin Active is doubling in size in the UK with the takeover of rival gym... Virgin Active adds clubs and muscle to float plans Virgin Active flexes its financial muscles in 77m takeover deal North-East health club to be taken over by Virgin group BULKING UP; Virgin in gym grab Virgin flexed for takeover Stelios offers an easy way to get into shape easyGroup Holdings Ltd Stelios hits the gym circuit this summer Net Value: Virgin looks at shopping coupon service Virgin mulls over launching online discounts service Virgin gym boss quits; DIGEST EXPLODING BALL AT VIRGIN GYM BREAKS RIBS OF WEIGHTLIFTER; RALPH MILLER AND MARK BLUNDEN - TO BE ADVISED Fitness freaks wasting money on energy drinks Eagle Eye powers Virgin Active's mobile voucher scheme Leisure; Need to know Virgin Active plans sale and expansion Virgin Active reviews global creative brief Branson may float Virgin Active gyms Virgin Active reaches a healthy milestone Virgin Active runs through GBP 100m mark as gyms fight off recession Virgin Active uses marathon to boost health club brand
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News Branson's surprise club visit 186 words 8 October 2011 Coventry Evening Telegraph COVEVT 11 English (c) 2011 Coventry Newspapers Ltd VIRGIN boss Sir Richard Branson paid a surprise visit to one of Coventry's health and fitness clubs after buying it out earlier this year. The tycoon brushed up on his tennis skills and even did a bit of painting at the Warwickshire Health & Racquets Club, in Whitley, Coventry, on Monday. The fitness centre has been taken over by Virgin Active, which is owned by Branson's business empire, as part of a 77.5million buyout of rival gym chain Esporta. Sir Richard, who was joined by his daughter Holly, greeted staff and members of the club. Alun Davies, manager of the Virgin Active club, said: "It was truly fantastic to have Richard Branson visit the club. "He is an inspirational figure with a real sense of fun. "He showed how active he was on the tennis courts by getting involved in one of our sessions with the members and tennis professionals. "It's not every day that you can say you've played a game of tennis with Richard Branson and he was pretty handy with a racquet!" Document COVEVT0020111008e7a800012
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Fitness First abandons 1bn Singapore flotation; Fitness First has been forced to abandon its 1bn Singapore flotation after months of extreme market volatility. By Richard Fletcher and Helia Ebrahimi 254 words 30 September 2011 19:19 Telegraph.co.uk TELUK English 2011 Telegraph Group Limited, London The decision deals a bitter blow to Fitness First's private equity owner BC Partners (BCP) best known for buying London estate agent Foxtons at the top of the market. BCP had been working on a Singapore float for more than a year and had targeted raising 500m, with insiders saying the firm had been poised to price shares over the past few weeks. However, extreme swings in market conditions made "pushing the green button untenable", said a source who added: "Singapore has been just as volatile as the UK." More than $34bn of planned IPOs have been pulled this quarter, making it harder for other companies tapping Singapore's market, such as Manchester United Football Club. BCP will now have to look at alternative exit routes, such as the deal struck by Virgin Active to sell a 51pc stake to CVC after years of mulling a possible IPO. The loss of the Fitness First payday, however, is likely to be soothed by next week's planned announcement that BCP has raised its full 6bn fund. It has also pocketed more than 500m of the 600m gain made from selling its 40pc stake in AngoDutch boiler group BDR which it co-owns with Electra Partners. Together with cash taken out through last year's refinancing, BCP has made a total of 620m from BDR. Document TELUK00020110930e79u001eb
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News Club marks a milestone 194 words 23 September 2011 Solihull News SOLNEW 58 English (c) 2011 Mirror Group Limited VIRGIN Active Solihull marked 10 years on Blythe Valley Park by holding a celebration for members. The leading health and fitness club held a barbeque and fun day next to its heated outdoor pool, followed by a black tie event for members who have been using the club since it opened in 2001. General manager Ewan Gray said the club was delighted to celebrate the occasion with some familiar faces. "It was really nice to celebrate Virgin Active Solihull's 10 year anniversary with our members and their families," he said. "There was a great atmosphere at the club throughout the day and everyone who came along seemed to have fun helping us mark the occasion." Kate Smith, of Liberty Property Trust, which develops and manages Blythe Valley Park in partnership with Doughty Hanson & Co Real Estate, added: "Virgin Active boasts some of the best health and fitness facilities in the area. "We are delighted to have them with us at Blythe Valley Park and wish them a happy anniversary." For more information about Virgin Active Solihull at Blythe Gate on Blythe Valley Park contact 0121 506 9939. Document SOLNEW0020110923e79n0000g
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'VIRGIN ACTIVE ROAD RACE' EVENT TO BE HELD AUG. 27 142 words 23 August 2011 UK Government News HTUKGN English Copyright 2011. HT Media Limited. All rights reserved. MANCHESTER, U.K., Aug. 23 -- British Cycling issued details related to the following event: Virgin Active Road Race EVENT DETAILS Start date: Sat, 27th Aug 2011 Type: Road (Competitive) Venue: Cranfield University Sports Complex, MK43 0AL Entry close date: Sat, 13th Aug 2011 Event promoted by: Virgin Active (http://www.virginactive.co.uk/) Event organiser: Mr Sean Dines, 34 Leopard Drive, Pennyland, MILTON KEYNES, MK15 8AB Cheques payable to: Sean Dines * To Download Entry Form, click here: (http://www.britishcycling.org.uk/membership/article/mem-st-Entry-Forms-Home) RACE DETAILS * Table omitted (The document can be viewed at: http://www.britishcycling.org.uk/events/details/52452/Virgin-Active-Road-Race) Document HTUKGN0020110823e78n000gz
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News Virgin gym chain could buy rivals; LEISURE BY PETER EDWARDS 274 words 22 August 2011 City AM CITYMO 1 9 English Copyright 2011. CITY AM. VIRGIN Active is considering buying rival gyms after a private equity house took a majority stake in the business. City A.M. understands that Virgin Active could make further deals while it integrates Esporta, the rival chain it took over earlier this year. The health and fitness firm is also targeting organic growth after CVC Capital Partners took a 51 per cent stake over the weekend. Virgin has been left with a 49 per cent stake, excluding the impact of a management incentive scheme. Virgin Active, which was valued at about 900m in the deal, has 254 clubs and 1.1m members across the UK, South Africa, Italy, Spain Portugal and Australia. It wants to win more customers in South Africa, Italy and the Iberian countries but will also consider opportunities to acquire other businesses. In April Virgin snapped up Esporta's 55 gyms from French bank Socit Gnrale for 77.6m, making it the UK's biggest gym chain by members. The deal saw 159,000 Esporta members transfer to Virgin, taking it ahead of David Lloyd Leisure Operations. Fitness First is the biggest gym by number of chains. Other private equity firms beyond CVC had looked at Virgin and this interest intensified after the deal with Esporta was carried out. Virgin Active, which had been majority owned by Sir Richard Branson, has long faced rumours that it will float but the private equity deal is not thought likely to affect plans for an initial public offering when markets are more confident. No-one from Virgin Active was available to comment yesterday. Document CITYMO0020110822e78m0000e
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Leisure Virgin Active sells controlling stake to CVC but still has eye on flotation Dominic Walsh, David Robertson 486 words 20 August 2011 00:01 thetimes.co.uk TIMEUK English 2011 Times Newspapers Ltd. All rights reserved Sir Richard Bransons Virgin Active is poised to announce the sale of a controlling stake in the health and fitness club operator to CVC Capital Partners. The Times understands that the private equity firm has agreed to acquire a 51 per cent stake in a deal that values Virgin Active at about 900 million, leaving Virgin with a 49 per cent stake, excluding the impact of a management incentive scheme. The deal, likely to be announced today, is being structured as a partnership for growth that will provide the business, led by Matthew Bucknall, the chief executive, with the financial muscle to accelerate its international expansion plans. As part of the transaction, four clubs in Australia that are owned separately by Virgin Group will become part of Virgin Active, taking its number of clubs to 254 in Britain, Australia, South Africa, Italy, Spain and Portugal. The deal follows persistent speculation that the group might float, although the arrival of CVC as a partner is not expected to affect plans by the company to pursue an initial public offering when markets improve. On a trip to Australia last month to tie up the transfer of the four clubs located there, Sir Richard confirmed that talks with an unnamed private equity group were at an advanced stage. He said: Virgin Active is now a 1 billion company and we are bringing in a venture capital company, which is normally the stage before you become public, he said. Sir Richard confirmed that Virgin Active could float any time but conceded that market volatility meant we wouldnt get the value for it in a public listing at the moment. As part of the deal, CVC is understood to be buying out two rival private equity investors, Bridgepoint and Permira, which own minority shares. In April Virgin Active appeared to be shaping up for a fresh attempt at a flotation when it announced the 77.6 million purchase of Esportas 55 British clubs. At the same time it reported 2010 results showing a 13 per cent jump in underlying earnings to 114.6 million, from revenues up 14 per cent to 445.2 million. During the year it lifted its total number of clubs from 187 to 194 and, excluding the Esporta deal, it expected to open another 17 new clubs in 2011 and early 2012. Money manager CVC manages capital on behalf of more than 300 institutional, government and private investors Its funds are invested in more than 50 companies worldwide Notable investments include Acromas, the owner of the AA and Saga, and Formula One Recent deals include taking stakes in Merlin Entertainments, the theme park owner that operates Legoland and Alton Towers, and Brit Insurance, as well as the flotation of Samsonite, the luggage maker, in Hong Kong Document TIMEUK0020110820e78k0005x Page 8 of 55 2011 Factiva, Inc. All rights reserved.
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Need to Know Need to know: Stagecoach payouts; Virgin Active sale; Minerva bid unconditional 1,266 words 20 August 2011 00:01 thetimes.co.uk TIMEUK English 2011 Times Newspapers Ltd. All rights reserved Sign up to Need to know AM to receive the essential business news first with a morning briefing sent straight to your inbox from The Times Economics Public sector borrowing: Public sector net borrowing, excluding financial interventions, came in at 20 million in July, according to the Office for National Statistics. Last years July figure was 3.5 billion. The City expected a figure this year of 2.5 billion. German producer prices: Factory gate prices rose by 0.7 per cent in July. Prices are up 5.8 per cent on the year. Banking & finance Bank of America: The largest US bank by assets is to cut 3,500 jobs, more than 1 per cent of its worldwide workforce. The bank is also reviewing the size and scope of its business, which could lead to thousands more job losses. Yorkshire Building Society: Chris Pilling, head of branch network at HSBC, will become the new chief executive of Britains second-largest building society. Construction & property Minerva: A proposed 202 million takeover of the property developer by Delancey and Area Property Partners was declared unconditional. Minervas largest shareholder, Nathan Kirsh, a South African billionaire, agreed to sell his 29.5 per cent stake to Delancey and Area this week, making a 20 million profit. Minervas chairman, Oliver Whitehead, and three non-executive directors have resigned. Minervas shares will be delisted from the London Stock Exchange on September 19. Cluttons: The gradual upward creep in home values will continue despite Britains rapidly eroding household incomes and negative job growth, the residential estate agency said. Irish skills: Ireland could lose a generation of skilled construction workers to New Zealand. Earthquakehit Christchurch needs at least 8,000 people to rebuild and repair about 100,000 homes and hundreds of commercial buildings. Advertisements on construction websites are targeting Irish workers because they are skilled, speak English, and many are unemployed. Consumer goods Clorox: Carl Icahn, the billionaire investor, wants all 11 seats on the board of the consumer products maker Clorox, which twice rejected his offers to buy the company this summer. He nominated himself, his son and nine other people for election at the next annual shareholder meeting. Engineering Boeing: The new 747-8 freighter jet has won approval from the US Federal Aviation Administration and the European Aviation Safety Agency, clearing the way for it to go into service. Its first customer is the European carrier Cargolux. The new aircraft is 16 per cent larger than its predecessor. Health Hikma Pharmaceuticals: Operations in Egypt and Tunisia are recovering from the unrest in North Africa and the Middle East, the FTSE 250 company said in a statement. Hikma, which sells branded drugs across 17 countries in the region, remains on course for organic revenue growth of 7 per cent and a Page 10 of 55 2011 Factiva, Inc. All rights reserved.
gross margin of 47 per cent this year. Leisure Virgin Active: Sir Richard Bransons health and fitness club operator is to sell a controlling stake to the private equity firm CVC Capital Partners. The price of the 51 per cent stake values Virgin Active at about 900 million. Virgin retains 49 per cent. Gordon Ramsay Holdings: A review of the chefs disparate restaurant empire has concluded that its two Maze eateries in Melbourne, Australia, are not sustainable and they have been put into liquidation. Von Essen Hotels: Templewood Partners, a boutique merchant bank, has offered more than 150 million for the 27 hotels in the Von Essen chain, which collapsed in April with debts of 300 million. Several bids were tendered before yesterdays deadline, although Templewood is understood to be one of the few bidding for the whole business. Paramount Restaurants: Deloitte has been appointed to advise on the Chez Grard and Livebait operators strategic options, which could lead to a sale of all 35 remaining outlets or a break-up, according to M&C Report. Park Plaza Hotels: Revenue per available room rose by 21.2 per cent in the first six months on a likefor-like basis as occupancy and room rates rose. Media BSkyB: The competition watchdog has moved to loosen BSkyBs dominance over the rights to broadcast Hollywood movies after ruling that its rivals are not able to compete with the pay-television giant due to the structure of the market for film rights. Natural resources Gem Diamonds: First-half pre-tax profits at the London-listed diamond producer surged tenfold to $79 million (48 million) as prices hit a record high. The average price at auctions in Antwerp almost doubled to $3,052 per carat, up from $1,728 per carat, driven by demand from China and India. Shell: Britains worst oil spill for a decade has finally been stopped. Shell said that divers had succeeded in closing a second valve on the Gannet platform, 112 miles east of Aberdeen, from which oil was leaking at the rate of less than one barrel of oil a day. In total, 1,300 barrels spilt into the North Sea, affecting an area estimated at 2.5 sq miles. Gulf of Mexico: The US Government is to sell leases for offshore drilling in the Gulf of Mexico on December 14 for the first time since last years BP oil spill, which prompted a six-month drilling ban. The sale will include areas in the Western Gulf area off Texas. Bunge: New York-based Bunge, the Bermudan agricultural group, will invest $2.5 billion (1.5 billion) in its sugar and biofuels business in Brazil. Arabian Gulf Oil Company: Production of 250,000 barrels a day could resume within three weeks in rebel-held areas of Libya, the company said. Technology Autonomy: Four hundred staff will share a 30 million windfall after the company agreed to a 7.1 billion takeover by Hewlett-Packard. Sage: Sages interest in the Australian software company MYOB seems to have cooled despite securing preferred bidder status this week with a 900 million offer. Marvell: Second-quarter profits at the US maker of chips for BlackBerry smartphones fell 12 per cent on nearly flat revenue growth, but results were at the high end of its projections. Dimension Data: Third-quarter revenue at the IT services company owned by Japans NTT rose by almost 5 per cent. Operating profit rose 15 per cent. Telecoms BT: A deal with Heineken will bring free wi-fi to 100 London pubs. Plans to expand the network will add a further 200 venues across Britain by the end of next year. Transport Page 11 of 55
Qantas: Engineers at the Australian airline will stage one-hour stoppages until the end of the year over job cuts and planned new airlines in Asia. Stagecoach: Sir Brian Souter, the chief executive who co-founded Stagecoach with his sister, Ann Gloag, is in line for 51 million after the bus and rail operator said it would return 340 million to investors. Sir Brian has a stake of just over 15 per cent. Ms Gloag, a non-executive director with a holding of almost 11 per cent, will receive almost 37 million. Utilities EDF Energy: Britains largest nuclear power generator reconnected its 600Mw Heysham reactor after it was shut down on Tuesday because of a problem with a boiler. Offshore energy: Andrew Jamieson, regulation director at Scottish Power Renewables, has been named head of the government- industry taskforce to reduce the costs of offshore wind energy to 100 per Megawatt hour. Document TIMEUK0020110820e78k0005u
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Virgin Active Poised To Announce Sale To CVC Capital Partners -Report 114 words 20 August 2011 10:07 Dow Jones News Service DJ English (c) 2011 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. LONDON (Dow Jones)--Richard Branson's Virgin Active is poised to announce the sale of a controlling stake in the health and fitness club operator to CVC Capital Partners, the Times newspaper said Saturday without citing sources. According to the paper, the private equity firm has agreed to acquire a 51% stake in a deal that values V ir g i n A c ti v e at about GBP900 million, leaving Virgin with a 49% stake, excluding the impact of a management-incentive scheme. The deal is likely to be announced Saturday, the paper added. -By London Bureau, Dow Jones Newswires +44 207 842 9262 [ 08-20-11 0607ET ] Document DJ00000020110820e78k0000h
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COMPANIES - UK Pure Gym raises cash to beef up By Rose Jacobs 435 words 15 August 2011 Financial Times FTFT Financial Times - Print and Online CTGFT London Ed1 14 English Copyright 2011 The Financial Times Ltd. All rights reserved. Please do not cut and paste FT articles and redistribute by email or post to the web. TRAVEL & LEISURE A low-cost UK fitness chain catering to commitment-phobes has secured funding to double in size. Pure Gym, which offers access to its facilities without a monthly contract, raised 9m from Barclays and private investors to expand from 15 gyms to 28 by the end of next year. A gym in Wandsworth, which opened this month, is the company's first London venture. It aims to open a second, in Kennington, at the end of September. Other locations include Edinburgh, Wolverhampton and Stoke on Trent. All the venues are at least 20,000 sq ft and open 24 hours a day. The two-year-old start-up is looking for a bigger piece of the 2.7bn UK fitness-club market as the sector begins to emerge from a period of difficult trading following the credit crunch and recession. David Lloyd is the leading operator in the country by membership, with approximately 450,000 members, followed closely by Virgin Active and Fitness First. But the market remains highly fragmented, spurring talk of consolidation. Virgin boosted its numbers earlier this year with the 78m purchase of Esporta's 55 higher-end sites . Fitness First, meanwhile, is focusing on expansion in Asia, and is considering a flotation in Singapore to help fund that growth. Pure Gym, which reported pre-tax profits of 10,813 on revenues of 6.3m in its maiden results in February, recently recruited Jacques de Bruin, former head of operations for Virgin Active's UK estate, as operations director. But Peter Roberts, chief executive, argues his clubs' low fees - at 16.99 a month for members on a contract - and flexible structure mean growth will not only come through stealing market share. "We're getting a lot of people joining our gym who've never been members of gyms before." A report published in June by Mintel, the consumer research group, would appear to support Pure Gym's business model. It estimates there are only about 60-70 budget health clubs in the UK out of more than 2,650 total, and point out that revenue per member is higher in the UK than US - which has higher penetration of fitness clubs - in spite of similar gross domestic product per capita figures. Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou, founder of EasyJet, is also getting in on the action, opening the first EasyGym branches in Wood Green and Slough this summer with monthly fees of 17.99 and 15.99 respectively. Sir Stelios aims to open 10 clubs a year. Document FTFT000020110815e78f00027
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News Virgin snap up fitness centre BY RUPERT HALL 328 words 22 July 2011 South Wales Evening Post SWEPOS 1 33 English 2011 South Wales Evening Post A FITNESS centre in Llandarcy is one of more than 50 around the UK which have been bought by a global gym chain. The Glamorgan Health and Racquets Club is one of 55 gyms and fitness centres in the Esporta Health Clubs group to have been acquired by Virgin Active in a deal completed on Tuesday. The Llandarcy club, which is used by more than 3,000 members, will now join the chain which operated around 70 clubs in the UK before its latest acquisition. A spokesman for the club said it would be too early to confirm what affect, if any, the take-over would have on membership fees. He said: "We don't understand what is going to happen with fees yet. "Everything stays as it is for now. "There's lots of things going on and it will be an amalgamation between Esporta and Virgin Active. "It is business as usual for us." Esporta's UK business of 55 health clubs and 159,000 members has been bought by Virgin Active for around 77.6 million. Richard Baker, chairman of Virgin Active, issued a statement in April this year ahead of the completion of the deal and said: "The exciting acquisition of the Esporta clubs will enable us to accelerate our growth plans in the UK." Matthew Bucknall, chief executive of Virgin Active, also commented at the time and said: "The location of Esporta's clubs is an excellent fit with this estate and significantly strengthens our business. "The acquisition broadens our product offering and demonstrates our willingness and ability to lead consolidation in the market. "Virgin Active's strong organic growth story, evidenced by the new clubs we are opening in Italy, Iberia and South Africa, combined with the benefits the Esporta acquisition will bring, means that we are well positioned to make significant progress in the years ahead." ? rupert.hall@swwmedia.co.uk Document SWEPOS0020110722e77m0004a
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Finance Virgin muscles in on health club market - EXCLUSIVE DAMON KITNEY, SERVICES 609 words 18 July 2011 The Australian AUSTLN 1 - All-round Country 21 English Copyright 2011 News Ltd. All Rights Reserved SIR Richard Branson's Virgin Group is planning to spend more than $40 million to extend its chain of Vir gin Ac tiv e health clubs in Australia over the next four years, building on its presence in Britain, Italy, Spain, Portugal and South Africa. While Virgin Active is in its infancy in Australia with three clubs in Sydney and one in Melbourne, Sir Richard said Virgin wanted to open four or five clubs a year in Australia over the next four years. ``With anything, we try to build the best. And if you build the best health club in a city, the best normally survives and thrives,'' Sir Richard said. ``We now have about 300 health clubs around the world; it is a very successful business for us, and I think in Australia the Virgin brand is very strong and the health clubs have been extremely well received.'' Virgin is understood to have between 20 and 30 sites under consideration nationally. The company has started its first swimming school at its new club in the outer Sydney suburb of Baulkham Hills. Virgin Active has more than 170 clubs in Britain, Italy, Spain and South Africa and more than 900,000 members. It represents about 10 per cent of Virgin's group revenues, but Virgin Active is still being targeted for a future public sharemarket listing on the London Stock Exchange after such a Continued on Page 23 Continued from Page 21 move was put on hold because of the global financial crisis. The only other publicly listed groups in Virgin's global empire are its Australian airline group, Virgin Australia, and Virgin Media in Britain. As a forerunner to a float process for Virgin Active, private equity group CVC Capital Partners is reportedly in exclusive talks about buying a cornerstone stake in the company. Sir Richard confirmed the talks were at an advanced stage but declined to identify whether CVC as the buyer. ``Virgin Active is now a pound stg. 1 billion ($1.5bn) company and we are bringing in a venture capital company, and that is normally the stage before you become public,'' he said. The deal was expected to be concluded within a month, Sir Richard said. ``We will keep about 50 per cent of the company and they will buy something like 25 per cent,'' he said. Of Virgin Active's future float prospects, Sir Richard said: ``It could float any time. ``It has the track record, it has gone through the recession with 30 per cent growth every year,'' he said. But currently volatile equity markets would not deliver the best value to Virgin Group. Page 16 of 55 2011 Factiva, Inc. All rights reserved.
``We wouldn't get the value for it in a public listing at the moment,'' he added. Virgin Group owns a 76 per cent stake in the leisure operator. Cash raised by the sale is expected to be used to extend the fitness chain. Virgin has previously flagged a move into Australian hotels as it looks to extend the Virgin brand in the local travel and leisure sectors, but Sir Richard said its current focus in that area was the US market. In September last year, Virgin Group formed a partnership in the US to buy as much as $500m worth of property over three years for a new high-end hotel venture. Virgin Group global chief executive Stephen Murphy last year revealed the group had conducted preliminary work in Australia with a view to eventually offering a 4.5-star hotel operation at four-star prices. But Sir Richard has stressed that the project remains at an exploratory stage. Document AUSTLN0020110717e77i00029
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03 News BL confirms Virgin Active purchase 269 words 16 July 2011 Estates Gazette EGZTE 488 English (c) Copyright 2011. Reed Business Information Limited. All rights reserved. BL confirms Virgin Active purchase British Land has confirmed its purchase of a portfolio of Virgin Active gyms from Socit Gnrale for 179m - a 7.3% net initial yield. As revealed by EGi on Monday, the portfolio consists of 17 freehold and leasehold premium racquet clubs, which will be let on new, 25-year leases to Virgin Active pending its acquisition of the Esporta business. The purchase is conditional on the Office of Fair Trading's approval of Virgin Active's acquisition of the Esporta business and will be funded through the group's existing facilities. The properties total 1.7m sq ft of leisure and gym facilities spread over 380 acres. They generate 13m initial annual net rental income and the leases are subject to five-year fixed uplifts. The average rent on the new leases is 8 per sq ft. Chris Grigg, chief executive of British Land, said: "While we remain focused on our core retail and central London office markets, this aquisition demonstrates British Land's ability to work with banks to unlock opportunities to create incremental value. These high-quality assets will be operated by a strong, established management team and provide us with a secure and growing income stream. The acquisition further underlines the strength of our property, structuring and financing skills and we expect more opportunities will continue to emerge in the coming year." annabel.dixon@estatesgazette.com To access all EGi news stories and commercial property data sign up for a free trial today, or visit the subscription options page to find out more. Document EGZTE00020110726e77g0002m
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03 News BL limbers up for 175m Virgin Active deal 240 words 9 July 2011 Estates Gazette EGZTE 487 English (c) Copyright 2011. Reed Business Information Limited. All rights reserved. British Land is buying a portfolio of Virgin Active health and racquet clubs from Socit Gnrale for 175m, writes Annabel Dixon. As revealed by EGi News on Monday (4 July), the REIT is in advanced discussions to buy the 17 longleasehold and freehold properties located throughout the UK, including Oxfordshire, Brighton and Cardiff. The former Esporta gyms were originally put up for sale by French investment bank SocGen in October last year in a 200m sale-and-leaseback deal. Virgin Active, controlled by entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson, acquired the operating company, comprising 55 sites, in April for 77.6m. The 17 freehold and long-leasehold interests remained with SocGen. They are now leased to Virgin on new 25-year leases for 13.1m pa. A source said: "British Land is looking for income-producing stock. It is going back to a strategy that the bigger REITs have done in the past. The portfolio is let to a good tenant and offers a very long income. The assets range in value from 3m to 20m, so British Land will have the opportunity to sub-sell some down." Esporta was bought by Syrian property tycoon Simon Halabi in 2006. It collapsed into administration in 2007 and was taken over by its lender, SocGen, in a debt-for-equity swap in 2009. Savills is advising British Land. All parties declined to comment. Document EGZTE00020110712e77900011
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Sport Sports club exit 56 words 9 July 2011 The Times T 1 46 English 2011 Times Newspapers Ltd. All rights reserved Socit Gnrale has sold its remaining interest in Esporta the property assets of 17 of the health club chain's tennis-based clubs to British Land for 179 million. The French bank had previously agreed the sale of Esporta's 55 British clubs to Virgin Active for 77.6 million. Page 51 Document T000000020110709e779000if
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Business SocGen quits the gym with red face and 260m Dominic Walsh 340 words 9 July 2011 The Times T 1 51 English 2011 Times Newspapers Ltd. All rights reserved Socit Gnrale brought down the curtain yesterday on its disastrous foray into British health clubs by selling its remaining interest in Esporta. The French bank, which had previously agreed the sale of Esporta's 55 British clubs to Virgin Active for 77.6 million, announced the sale of the property assets of 17 of the chain's tennis-based clubs to Britis h Land for 179 million. The deal means that SocGen has reaped almost 260 million from the sale of its interests in Esporta well below the amount it injected into the business but a much better return than seemed likely in 2009. SocGen became involved in Esporta in 2006 after backing a 475 million buyout by the Syrian-born property tycoon Simon Halabi from Duke Street Capital. Within six months the plans were in tatters as sales slumped and the business collapsed into administration. The bank went through an exhaustive search for buyers for the business but ended up taking direct control in early 2009 through a debtfor-equity swap. In April, when it agreed the sale of the Esporta operating business to Virgin Active, it retained Esporta Property Holdings, which owns the underlying property interest in 17 freehold and long-leasehold racquet clubs. The sale to British Land is subject to the completion of the deal with Virgin Active, for which OFT clearance is still being awaited. The purchase of the Esporta properties brings British Land's total acquisition spending over the past 18 months to 784 million. The acquisitions include Drake Circus shopping centre in Plymouth and Hutchinson 3G's UK head office in Maidenhead.7.3% Net initial yield generated by the sale of the Esporta properties Source: British Land's total acquisition spending over the past 18 months to 784 million. The acquisitions include Drake Circus shopping centre in Plymouth and Hutchinson 3G's UK head office in Maidenhead.7.3% Net initial yield generated by the sale of the Esporta properties Source: Document T000000020110709e779000ds
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British Land Acquires 17 Virgin Active Premium Racket Club Properties for 179 million 931 words 8 July 2011 M2 Presswire MTPW English 2011, M2 Communications. All rights reserved. British Land announces that it has agreed to buy a portfolio of freehold and leasehold racket clubs from for 179 million. The portfolio consists of 17 premium racket clubs which will be let on new, 25 year leases to Virgin Active pending its acquisition of the Esporta business. The purchase is conditional on the Office of Fair Tradings approval of Virgin Actives acquisition of the Esporta business and will be funded through the Groups existing facilities. The properties have been acquired at a net initial yield of 7.3% and an equivalent yield of 8.4% and will generate an initial annual net rental income of 13 million. The leases are subject to a fixed uplift at year five, compounded at 2.5% pa, followed by annual RPI uplifts of between 1% and 4% for the remainder of the term. The average rent on the new leases is 8 per sq ft. The properties acquired have a total of 1.7 million sq ft of leisure and gym facilities spread over 380 acres of land. The purchase price represents a capital value of just over 100 per sq ft. Nearly 85% (by value) of the clubs acquired are located in the South East of England, with nearly half of the clubs by value within the M25. Offering an extensive range of facilities, the clubs are all well located on the edge of major towns, are highly accessible and dominant in their catchment areas. Virgin Active will be the second largest provider in the UK with 124, mainly mid to high end market clubs and over 425,000 members. The acquisition of the Esporta business will provide Virgin Active with a strong presence in the premium health club sector where membership and revenues have remained resilient. The Esporta clubs are expected to benefit from Virgin Actives proven management skills alongside significant new investment. The purchase of the Esporta properties brings British Lands total acquisition spend over the last 18 months to 784 million. The acquisitions, which include Drake Circus shopping centre in Plymouth, Green Lanes shopping centre in Barnstaple and Hutchinson 3Gs UK head office in Maidenhead, as well as a number of development properties, generate annualised incremental rental income of 46 million. Chris Grigg, Chief Executive of British Land said , While we remain focused on our core retail and Central London office markets, this aquisition demonstrates British Lands ability to work with banks to unlock opportunities to create incremental value. These high quality assets will be operated by a strong, established management team and provide us with a secure and growing income stream. The acquisition further underlines the strength of our property, structuring and financing skills and we expect more opportunities will continue to emerge in the coming year. Enquiries: Investor Relations Sally Jones, British Land 020 7467 2942 Media Pip Wood, British Land 020 7467 2838 Guy Lamming/ Gordon Simpson, Finsbury 020 7251 3801 Notes to Editors Page 22 of 55 2011 Factiva, Inc. All rights reserved.
About British Land British Land is one of Europes largest Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) with total assets, owned or managed, of 14.9 billion (British Land share 9.6 billion), as valued at 31 March 2011. Through our property and finance expertise we attract experienced partners to create properties and environments which are home to over 1,000 different organisations and visited byover 250 million people each year. Our property portfolio is focused on prime retail locations and Central London offices which attract high quality occupiers committed to long leases. Our occupancy rate of 97.8% and average lease length of 11.5 years are among the highest of the major UK REITs. Retail assets account for 66% of our portfolio, around 80% of which are located at prime out-of-town sites. Comprising some 27 million sq ft of retail space across 90 retail warehouse properties, 99 superstores, 12 shopping centres and 10 department stores, the retail portfolio is generally modern, flexible and adaptable to a wide range of formats. Active asset management delivers the attractive space to both retailers and consumers. London offices, located in the City and West End, comprise 32% of the portfolio (rising to an estimated 37% on completion of current development). 7 million sq ft of office space includes Broadgate, the premier City office campus (50% share) and Regents Place in the West End. We are also investing 1.1 billion to create Central Londons largest committed office development programme which will deliver 2.2 million sq ft of high quality space by 2014, including a 700,000 sq ft building at 5 Broadgate, the 610,000 sq ft Leadenhall Building in Londons insurance district and the 500,000 sq ft NEQ building at Regents Place. Our size and substance demands a responsible approach to business and we focus on five areas which matter most to us and our key stakeholders: managing buildings efficiently; developing sustainable buildings; enhancing biodiversity, exceeding customers expectations and focusing on local communities. We believe leadership on issues such as sustainability helps drive our performance and is core to our corporate aim of building the best REIT in Europe. Further details can be found on the British Land website at www.britishland.com M2 Communications disclaims all liability for information provided within M2 PressWIRE. Data supplied by named party/parties. Further information on M2 PressWIRE can be obtained at http://www.presswire. net on the world wide web. Inquiries to info@m2.com. Document MTPW000020110708e778003pl
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Business Leisure; Need to know 146 words 18 June 2011 The Times T 2 60 English 2011 Times Newspapers Ltd. All rights reserved Capital Pub Company: Fuller, Smith & Turner, the London brewer, went hostile on its 76 million bid for the London pub company, saying it remained "pretty determined" to take it over despite its 200p-a-share offer being rejected as too low. Page 67 EasyGym: Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou is to open the first of his stripped-down easyGyms in Slough at the end of June. There will be no swimming pool or sauna and showers will be "minimal" to keep down costs and membership charges. A second gym will open in North London next month. Both will be in premises taken over from Virgin Active, Sir Richard Branson's fitness chain. Page 67 Rank Group: Guoco of Malaysia has set a closing date of July 1 for acceptance of its mandatory 150pa-share offer for the bingo and casino operator. Document T000000020110618e76i000jm
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News Virgin to sell gym stake 183 words 13 June 2011 The Daily Express THEEXP 1 36 English (c) 2011 Express Newspapers SIR RICHARD BRANSON'S gym chain Virgin Active has opened exclusive talks to sell a stake to private equity group CVC Capital in a move that could value the fitness firm at 1billion. The buyout firm, which also backs the AA and Formula One, is in talks to buy around a third of the 76 per cent stake Virgin owns in the clubs. It is also expected to buy out rival private equity firms Bridgepoint and Permira and part of the 10 per cent owned by the group's management. Cash raised from the sale will be used to accelerate the chain's expansion plans. It wants to overtake Fitness First to become the world's biggest gym operator. It is believed several buyout firms have approached Virgin over acquiring part of the firm's stake. Virgin Active has recently bought rival Esporta in a deal worth 78million. It now runs 121 gyms in the UK and others in Italy, Spain, Portugal and South Africa. Sir Richard Branson has ambitious plans for his Virgin Active gym chain Document THEEXP0020110613e76d0003i
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CVC In Exclusive Talks To Buy Virgin Active Stake - Sources By Marietta Cauchi Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES 280 words 13 June 2011 11:10 Dow Jones International News DJI English (c) 2011 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. LONDON (Dow Jones)--CVC Capital Partners is in exclusive talks to buy a substantial stake in Virgin Active with a view to boosting the gym chain's expansion plans, people familiar with the situation told Dow Jones Newswires Monday. Virgin Active is 76%-owned by Virgin Group which will remain a significant shareholder although talks are ongoing regarding whether this will be a large minority stake or a majority shareholding. The deal will value the whole business at around GBP1 billion and involve buying out the company's minority shareholders Permira and Bridgepoint which together hold a 14% stake. There has been no formal auction process but CVC was one of several parties who approached the company over the last year. The deal will enable Virgin Active to continue acquiring businesses in the consolidating leisure sector as well as rolling out more of its own sites. In April, Virgin Active bought rival gym operator Esporta's 55 sites in a deal worth GBP77.6 million adding to the company's 71-strong chain in the U.K. and around 187 sites worldwide. The deal is likely to take some weeks because of Virgin Active's presence in five countries including South Africa, Italy, Spain and Portugal as well as the U.K. The company posted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, or Ebitda, of GBP101 million on revenue of GBP391 million for the year ending Dec. 31 2009, the last available figures. -By Marietta Cauchi, Dow Jones Newswires; +44 207 842 9241; marietta.cauchi@dowjones.com [ 1306-11 1119GMT ] Document DJI0000020110613e76d000q6
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Business Branson offloads stake in gyms; Buyout firm CVC in exclusive talks to take big share of 1 billion Virgin Active chain and bankroll global push Matthew Goodman 420 words 12 June 2011 The Sunday Times ST 1 3 English 2011 Times Newspapers Ltd. All rights reserved THE buyout firm behind the AA and Formula One motor racing is warming up to take a stake in Virgin Active, Sir Richard Branson's gym chain, in a deal valuing the leisure group at 1 billion. CVC Capital Partners is in exclusive talks to buy a significant shareholding in Virgin Active, which recently bought rival Esporta. Cash raised by the stake sale will be used to accelerate an expansion of Virgin Active, which wants to become the world's largest fitness chain. Several buyout firms have approached Branson in recent weeks, but CVC is now favourite to strike a deal. Branson, whose Virgin Group owns a 76% stake in the leisure operator, is expected to sell part of his stake but he will retain a large shareholding. As part of the deal, CVC is likely to buy out two rival private equity investors, Bridgepoint and Permira, which each own a minority share. It has yet to be determined whether CVC will become the majority shareholder. The fitness chain's management, led by Matthew Bucknall, chief executive, is expected to stay in place. It also owns a significant stake. Virgin Active has long been seen as a candidate for a stock market listing but a deal with CVC would make that less likely. Bucknall's ambition is to overtake Fitness First as the biggest gym operator in the world. He recently said he would like to see Virgin Active "lead consolidation" of the industry. The group has pulled off several deals in the past few years. In April, it added 55 clubs to its empire with the 78m acquisition of Esporta. It now runs 121 gyms across the country. Virgin Active also has a strong overseas business, with clubs in Italy, Spain, Portugal and South Africa. In total it has almost 200 clubs, including those in Britain. Last year, the group generated underlying earnings of 114.6m on the back of a 14% increase in revenues to 445.2m. CVC, one of Britain's biggest private equity firms, has invested in a string of household names. It is partowner of Acromas, the holding company behind the AA and Saga, and is the majority shareholder of F1. Last year it acquired a minority stake in Merlin Entertainments, the firm behind Madame Tussauds and Alton Towers. All parties declined to comment this weekend. Document ST00000020110612e76c0010u
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Leisure Private gyms fall behind as low-cost and public options pick up speed Dominic Walsh 380 words 30 May 2011 00:01 thetimes.co.uk TIMEUK English 2011 Times Newspapers Ltd. All rights reserved The growing popularity of low-cost gyms could help the health and fitness club industry get back in shape and return to growth after the toughest year in its history. According to a new report, the 2011 State of the UK Fitness Industry, the number of health club memberships at the end of March was broadly unchanged year-on-year at 7.35 million, with total sales of 3.81 billion. The best-performing part of the market was the public sector, after an estimated 250 million was invested in new and refurbished facilities. Sports centres with gyms saw a membership increase of almost 2 per cent to more than 2.9 million. The report, produced by the Leisure Database Company (LDC) and the Fitness Industry Association, also says low-cost gyms have grown quickly to account for 4 per cent of the market, worth 37 million. David Minton, director of LDC, said: This sector is projected to double in size over the next 12 months but with tight margins its not for everyone. Those leading the charge include Pure Gym. It has 15 gyms either open or under development and is aiming for 45 by the end of 2012. Also about to climb on the treadmill is Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou, the easyJet founder. The first two easyGyms will open soon in Slough and Wood Green, with another three in the pipeline by the end of the year. The private sector, led by operators such as Fitness First, LA Fitness and David Lloyd Leisure, fell slightly, suffering a 1.7 per cent fall in memberships to 4.43 million. David Stalker, the FIAs chief executive, predicted further consolidation after the recent 77.5 million acquistion of Esporta by Virgin Active. More competition and further consolidation of the market means tough times ahead but with increased public health awareness and a three-year industry strategy in place, there is real opportunity for sector growth ahead. In a further sign of confidence, six years after LA Fitness became the last of a clutch of fitness club operators to quit the stock market, both Fitness First and Virgin Active are weighing up possible listings. Document TIMEUK0020110530e75u00074
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Virgin Active squeezes into Aldersgate. 68 words 20 May 2011 Property Week CSYR 7 English (c) 2011 CMP Information Limited. All rights reserved Virgin Active has signed at Helical Bar's newly refurbished office scheme 200 Aldersgate in the City of London. The 40,000 sq ft gym will be in the basement and have two fitness studios, indoor cycling, a swimming pool and more than 10,000 sq ft of gym floorspace. CB Richard Ellis acted on behalf of Helical Bar; Masons advised Virgin Active. Document CSYR000020110520e75k00009
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News Step into fitness 60 words 16 May 2011 The Citizen CITIZN 1 5 English 2011 The Citizen FITNESS fans can try out some new exercise classes in Barnwood. Zumba classes are being held at Vir gi n Ac tiv e Gloucester in Centre Severn on Tuesday and Friday. The classes combine Latin and international music with a fun and effective workout system. People can go to the session at 9.30am on Tuesdays or 1pm on Fridays. Document CITIZN0020110516e75g0000x
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Virgin Active to slim down Esporta rent payments. Kat Baker. 352 words 6 May 2011 Property Week CSYR 10 English (c) 2011 CMP Information Limited. All rights reserved Gym operator to renegotiate leases with landlords of 38 former Esporta clubs. Virgin Active has entered into talks with landlords of its newly acquired Esporta health and fitness clubs to renegotiate lower rents on longer leases. Virgin Active last week announced it had agreed to pay Esporta owner Societe Generale 77.6m for the operating company, Esporta Racquets & Non-Racquets Holdings. The portfolio comprises 55 health and racquet clubs. Esporta retained the freeholds of 17 racquet clubs and Virgin Active agreed new 25-year leases, paying 13.1m a year in rent. Negotiations are now under way with the individual landlords of the remaining 38 clubs to reduce rents to present market levels. If Virgin Active cannot satisfactorily renegotiate any of the leases, the clubs will be closed. It is thought at least two clubs will shut. Matthew Bucknall, CEO of Virgin Active, told Property Week: "We will be going to landlords and hoping to get to a win-win situation, where we can take on reversionary leases of 25 years at market rents, but they will get a better yield by taking on Virgin Active as a covenant." The negotiations with landlords are expected to take six to eight weeks. Bucknall said Virgin Active had set aside 20m to refurbish the clubs and rebrand them, but this is unlikely to happen until next year, as members would be consulted first. Societe Generale bought the Esporta Group out of administration in June 2009. The chain had been purchased by entrepreneur Simon Halabi six months before this, but a plan to extract value from Esporta's property went awry. It is thought the deal with Virgin Active could precede a future sale by Societe Generale of Esporta's 17 freehold and long-leasehold properties. Virgin already has 71 fitness clubs in the UK and the agreement with Esporta will make it the biggest UK gym operator by membership. Bucknall said the chain had no immediate plans - as has been rumoured - to undertake an IPO (initia l public offering) on the London Stock Exchange. Document CSYR000020110506e7560000m
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Business Virgin has extra muscle after gym chain merger By Tracey Boles 223 words 1 May 2011 The Express on Sunday THEXSU 1 2 English (c) Copyright Express Newspapers 2011 VIRGIN Active and Esporta, the newly-merged gym chains, see themselves as the instigators of more consolidation in the leisure club sector. Esporta chairman Richard Segal, who helped turn the club around when it was in administration by reinvigorating customer service, said he saw consolidation as "inevitable" in what is a fragmented sector. Last week Virgin Active sealed a 77.6 million deal with Esporta which will see it nearly double in size in the UK. Esporta's 35 leasehold fitness centres and 20 mostly freehold racket clubs will be rebranded and added to Virgin's 70-site UK business. However, a handful of underperforming clubs, either Virgin's or Esporta's, could be closed. Esporta was bought by Syrian billionaire Simon Halabi for 480 million in late 2006, placed in administration in 2007 and taken over by its lender, Socit Gnrale, in 2009. During its 18 months in administration, Esporta lost 20 per cent of its members, taking membership to 150,000. Since 2009, it has added 9,000 new members and reduced its churn rate. The newly combined group has 435,000 members in the UK and 1.1 million worldwide. In 2006, Virgin, majority owned by Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Group, bought 46 clubs from Holmes Place. Document THEXSU0020110501e7510007h
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03 News Virgin Active is doubling in size in the UK with the takeover of rival gym... 230 words 30 April 2011 Estates Gazette EGZTE 477 English (c) Copyright 2011. Reed Business Information Limited. All rights reserved. Virgin Active is doubling in size in the UK with the takeover of rival gym operator Esporta. Virgin Active has bought Esporta's 35 fitness centres and 20 racket clubs, all leaseholds, for 77.6m. They will be rebranded and added to Virgin's 70-site UK business. The holding company New Esporta Holdings and its subsidiaries, as well as the freehold and long leasehold interests of 17 racquet and health clubs, continue to be owned by investment bank Socit Gnrale. The 17 sites will be leased to Virgin on new 25-year leases. It is the third time Virgin has bought clubs from Esporta. In 2004 and 2005, it acquired a total of 16 sites, in Spain and the UK. Esporta was previously part of Syrian property tycoon Simon Halabi's empire. Halabi bought the chain from private equity group Duke Street Capital for 476m in 2006, with 330m of funding from SocGen. However, Esporta's holding companies, Bell Leisure I and Bell Leisure II, collapsed into administration a year later. SocGen took ownership, completing a debt-for-equity swap. annabel.dixon@estatesgazette.com To access all EGi news stories and commercial property data sign up for a free trial today, or visit the subscription options page to find out more. Document EGZTE00020110503e74u0000m
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Leisure Virgin Active adds clubs and muscle to float plans Dominic Walsh 413 words 27 April 2011 00:01 thetimes.co.uk TIMEUK English 2011 Times Newspapers Ltd. All rights reserved Virgin Active has begun shaping up for a fresh attempt at a stock exchange flotation by agreeing the 77.6 million purchase of Esportas 55 British clubs. The deal, foreshadowed in The Times in February, accompanied the announcement of strong full-year results, sparking suggestions that the chain is bulking up in advance of a listing. It has looked at an initial public offering at least twice before in recent years and its chief executive Matthew Bucknall confirmed yesterday that it would pursue an IPO in time ... At some point Virgin Group will want to realise its investment, though it will take at least 12 months to bed down this acquisition. Under the terms of yesterdays deal, Esportas owner Socit Gnrale will retain the underlying property interest in 17 freehold and long-leasehold rackets-based clubs in a vehicle called New Esporta Holding and will grant Virgin Active new 25-year leases at an initial annual rent of 13.1 million. Richard Segal, the Esporta chairman and former Odeon Cinemas chief executive, will remain chairman of NEH, but John Cleland, the chief executive of the chain, will join Virgin Active as UK managing director. Esporta was spun out of Lord Grades First Leisure Corporation in 1999. It has 20 tennis and squashbased clubs, including the Royal County of Berkshire Health & Racquets Club in Bracknell and the Riverside Health & Racquets Club in Chiswick, West London, plus 35 gym-based health clubs. SocGen became involved in Esporta in 2006 after backing a 475 million buyout by the property tycoon Simon Halabi from Duke Street Capital. Within six months his plans were in tatters as sales slumped and the business collapsed into administration. The bank went through an exhaustive search for buyers for the business, but it ended up taking direct control in early 2009 through a debt-for-equity swap after the level of bids failed to meet its expectations. Virgin Active, in which Sir Richard Bransons Virgin Group has a 76 per cent stake, bought 16 clubs from Esporta, including six in Spain, six years ago. It is taking on 159,000 additional members with the latest deal. Its IPO potential will be further enhanced by yesterdays full-year results, showing a 13 per cent jump in underlying earnings to 114.6 million, from revenues up 14 per cent to 445.2 million. Document TIMEUK0020110511e74r005gt
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Business Virgin Active flexes its financial muscles in 77m takeover deal RHODRI EVANS 642 words 27 April 2011 The Western Mail WESMAI 5 English (c) 2011 Western Mail and Echo Ltd BRANSON'S FITNESS ARM SNAPS UP ESPORTA VIRGIN Active has flexed its muscles with a 77.6m deal to buy 55 Esporta clubs - a move that will nearly double its size in the UK. The operator of 71 fitness clubs in the UK is stepping up its pace of growth with the first major acquisition since it bought Holmes Place almost five years ago. The Milton Keynes company also reported that it was in good shape after underlying profits increased 13% to 114.6m in 2010, helped by the opening of new clubs overseas. Virgin, which is majority owned by Sir Richard Branson, described trading in 2011 as strong after it powered through the one million membership barrier for the first time. If the deal is approved by the Office of Fair Trading, it is expected that the Esporta gyms will be rebranded under the Virgin banner within two years. Esporta operates four clubs in Wales, at Cardiff, Bridgend, Llandarcy and Cwmbran. Virgin, which has 194 clubs worldwide, said its UK business will have around 430,000 members and revenues of more than 325m. Virgin previously bought 10 clubs from Esporta in the UK in 2004 and 2005 and another six in Spain. Esporta, whose 35 health clubs and 20 racquet clubs are used by 159,000 members, was bought out of administration by Societe General in June 2009. The chain claims to have improved its performance since then under new management, which has turned around a decline in membership. Esporta's current chief executive John Cleland will join Virgin Active as UK managing director when the deal is completed. Mr Cleland said: "The acquisition of Esporta by Virgin Active represents a real opportunity to build on the great work undertaken over the last two years; creating a bigger, stronger business committed to serving its members better each and every day and better than the competition. Virgin Active is the perfect company to take the business forward. It has the experience, expertise and strong balance sheet required to take the business on to the next phase of its journey." He said that the company had come a long way since its period of administration. "I am delighted with the improvements made across the Esporta business, the dedication of all our colleagues, and in particular the advances in service that have been recognised by many of our customers," he said. "Since Societe Generale took ownership of the business in June 2009, Esporta has experienced a dramatic improvement in its membership trends, with a return to growth following a period of 18 months preceding this acquisition during which membership numbers were in a downward spiral. "This improvement in membership performance has been delivered by attracting a greater number of new customers as well as through a significant improvement in the retention of existing members." Virgin said its results for 2010 showed its resilience to the tough economic environment. Revenues increased 14% to 445.2m after the group opened seven new sites in South Africa, the Iberian Peninsula and in Italy. Although it opened no new clubs in the UK, its earnings increased for the third year in a row, it added. Page 35 of 55 2011 Factiva, Inc. All rights reserved.
The group said trading so far in 2011 had been positive, with further like-for-like growth in revenues. It plans to open another 17 clubs across its global operations over the next year in addition to the Esporta deal. Matthew Bucknall, chief executive of Virgin Active, said: "The location of Esporta's clubs is an excellent fit with our estate and significantly strengthens our business. "We have been able to sustain this growth over the last three years when economic conditions have been difficult and we continue to see excellent prospects for future growth in all our territories." Document WESMAI0020110427e74r0000g
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North-East health club to be taken over by Virgin group By Owen McAteer 443 words 27 April 2011 The Northern Echo NRCO 33 English (c) 2011 North of England Newspapers. A NORTH-EAST leisure club is to be snapped up by Virgin group tycoon Sir Richard Branson as part of a 77.6m deal. Virgin Active is planning to take over its rival gym chain Esporta, which owns 55 gyms, including The Wearside Health & Racquets Club, at Doxford Park, in Sunderland. The move, which requires approval from the Office of Fair Trading, will almost double Virgin Active's total of 71 UK leisure clubs. If the deal is approved, it is expected that the Esporta gyms will be rebranded under the Virgin banner within two years, meaning the Wearside club will be the group's first North-East facility. It is the first major acquisition for Virgin Active since it bought Holmes Place almost five years ago. The company also reported that underlying profits increased 13 per cent to 114.6m last year, helped by the opening of new clubs overseas. Virgin, which is majority owned by Sir Richard, described trading this year as strong, after it hit the one million membership barrier for the first time. If the deal is approved, Virgin, which currently has 194 clubs worldwide, said its UK business will have about 430,000 members and revenues of more than 325m. Virgin previously bought ten clubs from Esporta in the UK in 2004 and 2005, and another six in Spain. Esporta, whose 35 health clubs and 20 racquet clubs are used by 159,000members, was bought out of administration by Societe General, in June 2009. The chain claims to have improved its performance since then under new management, which has turned around a decline in membership. Virgin said its results for last year showed its resilience to the tough economic environment. Revenues increased 14 per cent to 445.2m after the group opened seven new sites in South Africa, the Iberian Peninsula and Italy. Although it opened no new clubs in the UK, its earnings increased for the third year in succession, it said. The group said trading so far this year had been positive, with further like-for-like growth in revenues. Virgin Active plans to open another 17 clubs across its global operations over the next year, in addition to the Esporta deal. Matthew Bucknall, chief executive of Virgin Active, said: ''The location of Esporta's clubs is an excellent fit with our estate and significantly strengthens our business. ''We have been able to sustain this growth over the past three years when economic conditions have been difficult and we continue to see excellent prospects for future growth in all our territories.'' Document NRCO000020110427e74r0000j
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Business BULKING UP; Virgin in gym grab by BILL MARTIN 219 words 27 April 2011 Daily Star DAISTA 1 36 English (c) copyright Express Newspapers 2011 VIRGIN Active beefed up its UK business yesterday by paying 77.6million for rival gym chain Esporta. The deal with Esporta's owner, French bank Socit Generale, is subject to Office of Fair Trading approval. It will add 35 fitness centres, 20 tennis and squash clubs and 159,000 members to the existing 71 UK clubs and 271,000 members, moving it in line with sector heavyweight Fitness First's 160-strong UK chain. "We're there at the top of the sector now," said Virgin Active chief executive Matthew Bucknall. Virgin Active, 76% owned by Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Group, said it will spend 20m on improving facilities at Esporta sites. The sites will be re-branded Virgin Active over the next 12 to 18 months and boost UK revenues by 140m to 325m. The news came as Virgin Active, which has 194 clubs worldwide, posted a 13% jump in profits for 2010 to 114.6m on revenues up 14% to 445.2m. Global membership has passed a million for the first time, and Bucknall added: "Health and fitness is no longer a discretionary spend but core to people's lifestyles." He said a float of the company remains a "good option". GYM KING: Sir Richard Branson Document DAISTA0020110427e74r0003a
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Business Virgin flexed for takeover 172 words 18 April 2011 The Daily Express THEEXP 1 44 English (c) 2011 Express Newspapers SIR Richard Branson's Virgin Active is shaping up for a takeover of rival gym chain Esporta. The pair are understood to be in advanced talks on a deal that would add 34 fitness centres and 21 tennis and squash clubs to Virgin's existing 70-plus clubs. Esporta is likely to be sold in two parts, with Virgin acquiring the gym operating business. Esporta's owner, French bank Socit Gnrale, is hoping this will make it easier to sell the freeholds of the clubs to another investor. Virgin Active, 76 per cent owned by Branson's Virgin Group bought the Holmes Place fitness chain nearly five years ago. It also operates gyms in South Africa and Italy. It held talks last year with private equity groups over a possible 1billion sale and also considered a flotation on the London stock market but put those plans on hold due to volatile financial markets. Virgin Active is looking to add to its portfolio of gyms and sports clubs Document THEEXP0020110418e74i0002p
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Business Stelios offers an easy way to get into shape By Jayne Atherton 170 words 5 April 2011 Metro METRO 1 36 English (c) 2011 Associated Newspapers. All rights reserved. EASYJET founder Stelios Haji-Ioannou is to launch no-frills fitness club chain easyGym with membership fees from 15 per month. The tycoon has teamed up with private equity-backed Fore Fitness for the start-up which will shun swimming pools and saunas in favour of basic gym facilities. Users will be able to sign up on a month-by-month basis, instead of being tied in for a year, with payasyou-go additions such as classes and personal trainer sessions. The business will open this summer after taking on two sites in Slough, Berkshire, and Wood Green, north London, from Virgin Active. 'We're ripping up the rule book in the fitness sector by ensuring members pay for the stuff they use, not the stuff they never use,' said easyGym joint chief executive Paul Lorimer-Wing. The group hopes to launch further clubs in 2011, building up to ten a year across Britain from 2012. Document METRO00020110405e7450004k
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easyGroup Holdings Ltd Stelios hits the gym circuit this summer 446 words 4 April 2011 06:01 Regulatory News Service RNS English (c) 2011 TIDMZZZZ RNS Number : 1974E easyGroup Holdings Ltd 04 April 2011 Stelios hits the gym circuit this summer easyGym, the new fitness club concept from Stelios, will officially open for business this summer after signing a deal with Virgin Active. easGym will take on two sites in Slough and Wood Green and aims to open ten clubs a year from 2012 in addition to other properties earmarked for 2011. It will be signing up members from mid April when its website officially launches. easyGym is the first fitness brand from serial entrepreneur Stelios who signed a licensing deal with private-equity backed Fore Fitness to develop the brand. The Fore Fitness team hails from the property, fitness and finance sectors and is confident that membership prices from GBP15 per month, flexible payment options, state-of-the-art equipment and qualified gym staff will bring great value and a consistent fitness experience to everyone. Says Paul Lorimer-Wing, Joint CEO, "We're ripping up the rule-book in the fitness sector by ensuring members pay for the stuff they use, not the stuff they never use! We've worked closely with some of the best brains in the business to develop a proposition which we are confident will make us a leading player in the European market in the coming years." -endsContacts: Fore Fitness Limited: Paul Lorimer-Wing +44(0) 75 8596 7788 Johnny Pitt / Niki Wheeler +44 (0) 207 758 3913 / +44 (0) 7941 847 390 easyGym@launchgroup.co.uk easyGroup IP Licensing Limited: Citigate Dewe Rogerson Patrick Donovan Chris Barrie Angharad Couch Eleni Menikou +44 (0) 20 7638 9571 About Fore Fitness Fore Fitness Limited is the offshoot of Fore Capital Partners www.forecapitalpartners.com (FORE), an Page 41 of 55 2011 Factiva, Inc. All rights reserved.
entrepreneurial venture capital firm. FORE focuses on identifying investment opportunities in growing markets, raising deal specific equity and managing teams to deliver shareholder value. Paul Lorimer-Wing has over 10 years of business experience. Paul's most recent role has been asset manager for a leading international private equity real estate fund headquartered in New York. Paul is also a Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst and a Chartered Certified Accountant. About easyGroup The easyGroup is the private investment vehicle of Stelios Haji-Ioannou, the serial entrepreneur. The easyGroup is the owner of the easy brand and licenses it to all of the easy branded businesses. The easy brand currently operates more than a dozen industries mainly in travel, leisure, hotel and office accommodation. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange END NRAUGUQUCUPGPPW [ 04-04-11 0601GMT ] Document RNS0000020110404e74400037
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Net Value: Virgin looks at shopping coupon service -461 words 28 February 2011 The Edge Malaysia (Weekly) EDGEWK English Copyright 2011. The Edge Communications Sdn Bhd. All rights reserved. Virgin is exploring the launch of a daily deals service to rival Groupon, LivingSocial and Google. A former Virgin company executive approached Sir Richard Bransons UK group last year about using its brand to enter the white-hot but crowded market for emailed, limited-time shopping coupons. Any launch would be conditional on raising external funding. The former executive has been pitching Virgin Deals to potential investors in the US and UK in recent months, according to people familiar with the plans. If the required funding is secured, the service will be launched in the UK later this year. Virgin thinks that the power and familiarity of its brand with consumers, and access to special offers from other companies in the Virgin empire such as Virgin Media or Virgin Active would enable it to enter the market successfully, even after investors have already poured millions into rivals. Discounts would be offered on products from other companies, not just Virgin-branded services. Virgin declined to comment. Its a very competitive market, says an investor with knowledge of the proposal. The North American entrepreneur hopes to raise about 30 million (RM148 million) to hire a sales team to strike deals with local businesses and to spend on advertising the service. Interest from one of the worlds leading entrepreneurial groups underlines the boom in daily deals services during the past 12 months. Groupon, the most prominent company in the sector, has seen unprecedented growth since launching in Chicago in 2008, with reports putting annualised revenues at US$2 billion (RM6 billion). In December, chief executive Andrew Mason turned down a takeover bid by Google that valued the company at up to US$6 billion. Groupon went on to raise a US$950 million round of financing as it gears up for a likely stock offering later this year. Groupons success in emailing limited-time offers for restaurants, spas and other services to millions of subscribers has spawned a host of imitators, including LivingSocial, which received a US$175 million investment from Amazon.com Inc last year, and the UKs Keynoir, backed by Brent Hobermans ProFounders Capital. Google and Facebook have also entered the market with similar services. Groupon is expanding rapidly to capitalise on its advantage of scale, recently linking up with a leading Russian social network. The companys London office is hiring dozens of staff every month. However, the technology powering Groupon and its competitors is not highly sophisticated and the barriers to entry are low. Several venture-capital companies that are not already invested in the market have sworn off the sector because of the level of competition and what they consider to be inflated valuations. FT Document EDGEWK0020110302e72s0001x
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Virgin mulls over launching online discounts service 183 words 23 February 2011 British Business Monitor GBBUSM English (c) 2011. AII Data Processing Ltd. (ADPnews) Feb 23, 2011 Virgin Group considers launching a new service offering daily discounts to tap a market dominated by Groupon, LivingSocial and Google (NASDAQ:GOOG), the Financial Times reported. The idea to use Virgins brand to offer limited-time shopping deals that are sent via e-mail was proposed to Sir Richard Bransons group by a former executive. If the idea is to be implemented, the project will be funded by outside investors. People familiar with the matter said that the former executive has already contacted potential investors in the US and UK. If the necessary funding is raised, the service may see its UK launch later this year. Virgin hopes that the popularity of its brand among consumers and the availability of offers from companies within Virgin Group, including Virgin Media and Virgin Active, would ensure the success of its entry in the market. The plan is to offer special deals not only on Virgin products, but also on products from other companies. Company website: www.virgin.com Source: (DG/VV/DG) Document GBBUSM0020110223e72n000jj
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Business Virgin gym boss quits; DIGEST 87 words 7 November 2010 The Sunday Times ST 1 2 English 2010 Times Newspapers Ltd. All rights reserved THE finance director of Virgin Active has left the fitness club chain, two months after its decision to shelve plans for a 1 billion flotation. Simon Gordon had been at the company seven years and is said to want to serve on the board of a quoted company. His departure was described as entirely amicable by Virgin insiders. Virgin Active had been exploring a float or a sale to a private-equity investor but talks on both were abandoned in August. Document ST00000020101107e6b7000ze
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News EXPLODING BALL AT VIRGIN GYM BREAKS RIBS OF WEIGHTLIFTER; RALPH MILLER AND MARK BLUNDEN - TO BE ADVISED 441 words 22 October 2010 The Evening Standard NS 31 English (c) 2010 Associated Newspapers. All rights reserved A BUSINESSMAN suffered eight broken ribs and a collapsed lung at a London gym after an inflatable ball burst and heavy weights fell on his chest. Virgin Active was fined 10,000 for the injuries caused to James Allen, 49, at its branch in the Strand after a health and safety case brought by Westminster council. Mr Allen, a management consultant with Bain & Co, was sitting on an inflatable stability ball to lift bar weights as part of his morning routine when he came crashing to the ground. The bodybuilder, who is 6ft 5in tall and weighs 19 stone, was lifting freeweights using a green rubber ball to give greater stability to tone his shoulders and abdominal muscles. He heard a big bang. It just disappeared from beneath me, he said. Paramedics put Mr Allen into a neck brace and took him to St Thomas Hospital in Waterloo. Mr Allen, of Richmond, said: I was lifting 80kg on the ball and it just burst. The doctor told me that if I had been three years older the damage could have killed me. I couldnt breathe properly for a long time after. He had broken ribs, a collapsed right lung, fluid on the lungs, a damaged jaw and a bruised back and chest. He was put on morphine and two years later still needs physiotherapy. My lungs took for ever to repair but the consequences are bigger, he said. The issue is that these things are used everywhere and nobody knows these non-burst guarantees are rubbish. These balls are used in hospitals and used by pregnant women and there is no guarantee they wont burst at all. Mr Allen was working with a personal trainer, Gareth Degg, at the gym, which costs up to 90 a month. Virgin Active pleaded guilty to breaching the duty of care it had to Mr Allen under the Health and Safety Act at Westminster magistrates court. Virgin Actives barrister, Mark Balysz, said the company accepted the deficiencies in its risk assessment and blamed the firms former health and safety manager for carrying out an incomplete assessment. He told the court that staff were not aware of the fallacy that the ball would not burst so any checks made were not made in the knowledge that if it was scratched, scuffed or cut it could burst. Richard Block, health and safety manager at Westminster council, said: All employers have a duty of care to those they employee and for visitors to their premises. Document NS00000020101022e6am0001f
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Fitness freaks wasting money on energy drinks 227 words 4 October 2010 Indo-Asian News Service HNIANS English Copyright 2010. HT Media Limited. All rights reserved. London, Oct. 4 -- Fitness freaks who gulp energy drinks seem to be wasting their money. While the drinks may be fine for people training for marathons, many exercisers just end up consuming excess of calories. Nick Hudson, the national fitness manager for Virgin Active, said those doing workouts of less than two hours do not really benefit from the drinks. "Many are simply 'calorie drinks' and drinking them means you'll have to train longer or harder to shift the calories that you take in from the drink itself," said a Daily Mail report quoting Hudson. "They're useful for people who compete in events where they'll be exercising in excess of two hours. But those doing shorter, more intense workouts don't really benefit physiologically," said Hudson. However, Hudson added that it is important to avoid dehydration. "From a taste perspective, if someone has become conditioned to dislike the taste of water, then it's certainly better to drink these drinks than be dehydrated," he said. Most energy drinks contain carbohydrate to provide a quick source of fuel, and sodium, which helps to maintain fluid balance.Published by HT Syndication with permission from Indo-Asian News Service. Document HNIANS0020101005e6a40003c
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Eagle Eye powers Virgin Active's mobile voucher scheme 127 words 16 September 2010 Telecompaper Europe TELEUR English Copyright 2010 Telecompaper. All Rights Reserved. Eagle Eye, a UK-based provider of voucher and coupon redemption services at the POS, has won a contract from UK fitness and leisure brand Virgin Active. Under the terms of the contract, Virgin Active has launched a national marketing and customer loyalty campaign based on mobile voucher redemption technology provided by Eagle Eye. Virgin Active Group is using mobile coupons as part of its marketing strategy throughout September aimed at driving new membership to its nationwide range of fitness clubs. Consumers can send a SMS with the word 'virginactive' to a short code to receive a free days' gym pass. The mobile voucher scheme has been deployed across all Virgin Active's 70 clubs in the UK. Document TELEUR0020100916e69g0001q
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Business Leisure; Need to know 100 words 30 August 2010 The Times T 1 32 English 2010 Times Newspapers Ltd. All rights reserved Virgin Active: Sir Richard Branson's gym chain, with almost 200 clubs and more than 1 million members, has shelved plans for a 1 billion flotation. It operates in Italy, Spain, South Africa and Britain. Orchid Group: Britain's sixth-largest managed pub company has sold its four-strong chain of Bel and The Dragon inns to Longshot, the company run by the entertainment entrepreneur Joel Cadbury, scion of the chocolate family, for 4 million. Mr Cadbury hopes to use the inns in Windsor, Reading, Cookham and Godalming as the basis for a pub empire. Document T000000020100830e68u0008f
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Business Virgin Active plans sale and expansion 232 words 28 July 2010 Bristol Evening Post FBEP 1 2 English Copyright 2010 Bristol Evening Post & Press Ltd. All Rights Reserved. SIR Richard Branson's Virgin Active is planning on opening a branch in Bristol. The firm is preparing a stock market float or sale that could value the gym chain at about 1 billion along with a major expansion.. Any such move would trigger a huge windfall for the entrepreneur as Sir Richard holds a 75 per cent stake in the business he founded in 1999. Advisers including Goldman Sachs and Royal Bank of Scotland were working on the basis of a flotation in the autumn. The 187-strong chain announced record profits in May and a tenth consecutive year of growth, despite the recession. Sir Richard is expected to retain a sizeable stake in the business as part of any ownership change, although he could delay the flotation move until next year if recent market turbulence continues after the summer. Virgin needs to get the timing right because a previous attempt to list the company in 2007 was scuppered by market volatility. The gym business, which acquired Holmes Place in 2006, has based its success on its strategy of situating clubs in decent-sized catchment areas. Eight new clubs were opened in 2009 - all of them overseas - while agreements have been secured for a further 17 clubs to support international expansion. The group is also looking to open new sites in Bristol and Guildford. Document FBEP000020100729e67s00059
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Virgin Active reviews global creative brief By Anne Cassidy 214 words 9 July 2010 Campaign CMPN 1 English (c) Campaign, a Haymarket publication info@brandrepublic.com
, for more information visit
or email
Virgin Active, the health club chain, is reviewing its global advertising account. The review includes the business in the UK, along with other global territories. Virgin Active is understood to be arranging meetings with six agencies, with a pitch planned for early August. The review is being handled by Tim Carter, the Virgin Active group marketing and brand director. In the UK, the gym chain has its own in-house creative team but also works with Beattie McGuinness Bungay on a consultancy basis. It is understood that the Virgin brand has called the review in order bolster its creative work. Virgin Active's first brand campaign, introducing the strapline 'More pleasure. Less pain' launched in September last year. The pounds 1 million outdoor, radio and print push was created in-house, in consultation with BMB. Sir Richard Branson is believed to be reviving plans to float the gym chain later this year with a likely price tag of more than pounds 1 billion. -------------------Did you find this article useful? Why not subscribe to the magazine? Please call 08451 55 73 55 for more information or visit www.haysubs.com Document CMPN000020100709e67900004
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Branson may float Virgin Active gyms 187 words 7 June 2010 Yorkshire Post YP English (c) 2010 Johnston Publishing Limited Sir Richard Branson is considering plans to float his Virgin Active gyms chain in a 1bn stock market launch, it was reported yesterday. The Virgin entrepreneur is talking to potential advisers over a possible listing for the group, the Mail on Sunday reports. Sir Richard currently owns 75 per cent of the group, which has 187 health clubs in the UK, South Africa, Italy and Spain. Virgin Active, which has 71 gyms in the UK, was founded in 1999 and bought former health chain Holmes Place in 2006 from former private equity owners Permira and Bridgepoint. The buy-out firms now hold a minority stake in Virgin Active. Sir Richard initially looked at floating the gyms chain in 2007 although the plans were put on hold by turbulent stock markets. But the firm recently posted strong results despite the impact of recession with a 10th consecutive year of revenue and profit growth. In 2009, the firm's underlying earnings rose above 100m for the first time, while revenues rose 15 per cent to 391m. It opened eight new clubs in 2009 Document YP00000020100608e66700015
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Virgin Active reaches a healthy milestone 276 words 11 May 2010 Yorkshire Post YP English (c) 2010 Johnston Publishing Limited Health club operator Virgin Active yesterday said it recorded annual earnings of more than 100m for the first time in its 10-year history. The group, which has 71 clubs in the UK and 187 sites in total, saw a 15 per cent rise in revenues to 391m after lifting membership by 4 per cent to 919,000. Virgin Active chief executive Matthew Bucknall said: "The trend that we have seen throughout the recession confirms our opinion that health and fitness has become a core aspect to people's lives." The company, which is majority owned by Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Group, said its UK business "demonstrated its resilience" during 2009. Yesterday's figures, which showed an 18 per cent rise in earnings to 101.1m, represent the 10th consecutive year of revenues and profits growth. Virgin, which acquired Holmes Place in 2006, said its success reflected its strategy of situating clubs in sizeable catchment areas and using facilities large enough to drive economies of scale. During the year it also increased the number of staff on the gym floor and improved the range of equipment and classes on offer. "Throughout 2009 we have continued to focus on our most valuable asset, our members," it added. Eight new clubs were opened in 2009 all of them overseas while agreements have been secured for a further 17 clubs to support international expansion. The group is also looking to open new sites in Bristol and Guildford. South Africa is the company's largest territory with 91 clubs, while there are 17 sites in Italy and another eight in Spain and Portugal. Document YP00000020100512e65b00019
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Business Virgin Active runs through GBP 100m mark as gyms fight off recession MARTIN FLANAGAN CITY EDITOR 461 words 11 May 2010 The Scotsman SC 5 English (c) 2010 HEALTH club chain Virgin Active has broken the GBP 100 million profits barrier for the first time in its decade-long history, partly spurred by South Africa's growing "aspirational middle-class population". The group - which has more than 70 clubs in the UK, 91 in South Africa and 187 sites overall - yesterda y posted revenues up 15 per cent to GBP 391m in 2009. Membership lifted 4 per cent to 919,000 last year. On South Africa, Virgin Active said: "The demographics of the country continue to change rapidly, driven by improved wealth distribution and an expanding, aspirational middle-class population, a trend that is underpinning demand for our product." The company also has 17 sites in Italy and eight in Spain and Portugal. Underlying earnings, excluding interest payments, tax, depreciation and amortisation, lifted 18 per cent to GBP 101.1m. Margins edged up 1 per cent to 26 per cent. Virgin Active chief executive Matthew Bucknall said the overall result showed that the fitness club industry had shown its defensive characteristics "despite some of the worst economic conditions of recent times". Some industry analysts had felt the niche leisure sector, one that is not seen as particularly cheap, would suffer as consumers reined in their spending amid surging unemployment. But Bucknall said: "The trend that we have seen throughout the recession confirms our opinion that health and fitness has become a core aspect to people's lives." It was the tenth consecutive year of revenue and profits growth for Virgin Active, which is majority owned by Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Group, and which acquired rival Holmes Place in 2006. Bucknall said: "These results underline the fundamental strength of our offer and the quality and scale of our international presence. "In particular, we have benefited from the strong attraction and distinctive nature of our product, as well as the importance our members continue to place on health and fitness." Virgin Active said part of its success was due to its strategy of situating clubs in sizeable catchment areas and using facilities large enough to drive economies of scale. During the year it also increased the number of staff on the gym floor and improved the range of equipment and classes on offer. Capital expenditure last year was GBP 21m, bringing total investment over the past two years to GBP 50m. Eight clubs were opened in 2009 - all of them overseas - whil e agreements have been secured for a further 17 clubs in the international expansion. Virgin Active said it was now making daily calls to 1,000 members who have used its facilities in the previous 24 hours to get feedback on its services. Document SC00000020100511e65b0000d
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Virgin Active uses marathon to boost health club brand 303 words 11 March 2010 New Media Age NEWMED 3 English (c) 2010 Centaur Communications Limited or its licensors. Virgin Active has rolled out a five-year marketing strategy to promote parent company Virgin's sponsorship of the London Marathon and become a major fitness destination online. The health club brand, which has more than 60 clubs nationwide, has launched an integrated campaign based around a website to generate exposure for the Virgin Active brand ahead of next month's marathon. The campaign positions Virgin Active as an authoritative voice on fitness. The site featured one of its real-life instructors leading a hamster through training routines ahead of its participation in the marathon itself. It also includes training plans and videos for races of any length, as well as information on the marathon course and a feed of the hamster running on a mini-London Eye wheel. Tim Davies, Virgin Active head of marketing, said the marathon sponsorship, which is in its first year, is a point of differentiation that the brand wants to use to move ahead of how other gyms market online. "A lot of health club sites are simply brochures so we want to move away from that," he said. "While ultimately we want people to come into our health clubs, we're acutely aware that other sectors engage far more closely with consumers online and that's something, as a category, we're guilty of not doing." Davies said this year's activity laid the foundations for a long-term marketing strategy by the brand around the marathon, which Virgin is sponsoring for the next five years. "We want the site to evolve over that time. This is year one, but we're already planning year two and how we can engage people more closely and get them involved," he said. The online campaign was developed by BMB. Document NEWMED0020100312e63b00003
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Virgin Active - Two Year News Run

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