Aspria Holdings, owner of eight premium wellbeing clubs in Germany, Belgium and Italy, has entered into a financial partnership with Fortress Investment Group.

The deal makes over €50m of investment available to Aspria, accelerating its emergence from COVID-19 lockdowns and placing the company on the acquisition trail.

Fortress, itself a subsidiary of Japanese giant SoftBank – the owner of brands such as Uber and WeWork – currently has US$53.1bn of assets under management on behalf of 1,800 institutional clients and private investors. The deal with Aspria marks its first serious foray into wellbeing.

“As our sector emerges from what has been an incredibly challenging pandemic, we asked ourselves the question: in what direction does Aspria now head?” says Aspria CEO and founder Brian Morris.

“We see this partnership as the foundation of an exciting future direction, not to mention a hugely positive sign for our sector as a whole. It's proof that wellbeing is now on the radar of the biggest financial institutions in the world, not simply as part of a broader group of consumer investments, but as a valuable and worthy market in its own right.

“Wellbeing is no longer peripheral. It's here to stay and plays a crucial role in all our lives, and major investors are now recognising this.”

Rahul Ahuja, MD of Fortress Investment Group, added: “We're very excited about our investment in Aspria, which we believe is the pre-eminent European health club operator, in an industry that has exceptional potential for growth."

Morris added: “Aspria is fortunate to have incredibly loyal members who continued to pay membership throughout lockdown to remain part of our clubs. It is this strong relationship that helped us navigate the crisis and we value that well-earned loyalty.

“This financial partnership is putting us in a position to accelerate out of the crisis, invest in change, deliver on our promises and further grow the estate.

“My team has also been incredible throughout and this partnership ensures a great future for them. They can be prouder than ever of the sector in which they work and confident in the exciting platform Aspria has to move forward at pace.”

The Aspria Group remains wholly owned by CEO Brian Morris and key senior management.

Find out more about Aspria on their website here.