Four-Year €40 Million Senior Secured Bond for LifeFit Group

In recent times, the LifeFit Group has been making waves in Germany not only as a health and fitness platform but as the operator of Fitness First, Barry’s Bootcamp brands, and elbgym. Now, they’ve issued a senior secured Nordic bond of €40 million.

As the current leading fitness provider in the Saar-Palatinate region, it seems smile X will be an important acquisition with the proceeds. Elsewhere, Fitness First will receive extra investment while Barry’s Bootcamp continues to roll out.

With a USP of high value for money, smile X is a brand that has been gaining attention in Germany’s southwest. For all members, they’re assisted towards their personal goals with licensed course instructors, lots of training options, qualified specialist trainers, and more. Currently, they have 17 different clubs with another five in the pipeline (these clubs have around 40,000 members). The ‘high value/low price’ segment continues to grow, and it seems LifeFit Group now want a slice of the action.

For the bonds themselves, there’s a floating rate coupon (three-month Euribor and 7.5% p.a.) and they will mature in the summer of 2023. It’s important to note that the Issuer will list the bonds on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange Open Market not long after the issue date and the bonds are actually governed by Swedish law. For LifeFit Group, development and growth is essential which is why the framework for the bond issue was at €120 million.

When the news of the bond issue broke, it was actually received very well. It took the interest of high-quality investors not only in the Nordic region but across Europe and in the US too.

The LifeFit Group was founded through funds at Oaktree Capital Management. Their Senior Vice President, Federico Alvarez-Demalde, has said ‘The LifeFit Group has an enormous potential for growth and success. With five brands in our portfolio positioned across the growing market segments, we are in an excellent starting position to establish the LifeFit Group and turn it into the most relevant fitness and health platform in Germany.’