Sport Alliance (“the Group”), a Hamburg-based provider of innovative software solutions and services to gyms and fitness suites, today announces it has secured a growth investment of €60m from PSG, a leading growth equity firm that focuses on partnering with middle-market software and technology-enabled services companies.
With its vision of ‘More Sports’, Sport Alliance’s objective is to digitize the global fitness industry. The Group delivers innovative software solutions and services to fitness chains, franchise systems, and independent fitness providers in an effort to make gym management more efficient and broaden digital access to sports and exercise for their members.
Sport Alliance already counts more than 5,000 sports and health facilities among its customers in the DACH region and PSG’s investment aims to support its continued international expansion. The Group’s product portfolio is currently available in countries including Italy, Spain, France, the UK and the USA.
COVID-19 accelerates the digitalization of the fitness industry
“The fitness industry is undergoing even more change as a result of the pandemic than it was before. We already have a market leading position in the DACH region and now we want to take the next step and position ourselves globally as a technology driver for the industry. We are therefore very pleased, as we believe that PSG’s investment will help us achieve our ambitious goals,” says Daniel Hanelt, CEO of Sport Alliance.
Despite the difficult Covid-19 conditions, the Group has continued to grow and capitalize on the growing demand for greater digitalization in the fitness industry. “At PSG, we are excited about Sport Alliance’s growth potential,” added Skip Besthoff, Managing Director at PSG. “The company has continued to expand over the past two years, despite the headwinds faced by the leisure and fitness sector due to Covid-19, which we believe demonstrates the strength of Sport Alliance’s offering to its clients.”
‘Magicline’ with integrated member app as flagship of the company
Sport Alliance’s flagship product is the cloud-based management software solution for fitness studios, ‘Magicline’, and its adjacent member app used by more than one million gym and studio customers. The app is fully integrated and used by large studio chains including McFIT and Gold’s Gym, both of which are part of RSG Group, as well as at clever fit and Bodystreet, both of which are longstanding Sport Alliance customers.
PSG: “We want to further expand Sport Alliance’s market position”
Edd Hughes, Managing Director at PSG, said: “We are delighted to be partnering with Daniel and his team as we look to build on Sport Alliance’s market position in the DACH region. We believe that with our support, Sport Alliance has the potential to become a leading provider of mission-critical software solutions to gyms and fitness studios globally.”
International scaling and staff expansion
“We believe that in PSG we have found the right partner to open up the next chapter of Sport Alliance’s goal of facilitating sports worldwide. We look forward to working with the PSG team going forward,” Hanelt added. In addition to expansion into strategic growth markets, staff expansion and continued product development are priorities going forward for the Group.
Notes to Editors
PSG
PSG is a growth equity firm that partners with middle-market software and technology-enabled services companies to help them navigate transformational growth, capitalize on strategic opportunities and build strong teams. Having backed more than 80 companies and facilitated over 325 add-on acquisitions, PSG brings extensive investment experience, deep expertise in software and technology, and a firm commitment to collaborating with management teams. Founded in 2014, PSG operates out of offices in Boston, Kansas City and London. https://www.psgequity.com/
Sport Alliance
Sport Alliance, headquartered in Hamburg, specializes in innovative software solutions revolving around gym management, financial services and purchase management for fitness studios. The company group counts more than 5,000 sports and health facilities among its customers, including McFIT (RSG Group), clever fit and Bodystreet.
With Magicline, Sport Alliance offers one of Europe’s leading cloud-based all in one management software for the fitness industry and supports operators with optimizing and digitalizing their facilities. Alongside Magicline, the company’s portfolio also includes the booking portal and training app MySports, Bedarf.de, which specializes in the supply and purchasing management for fitness studios, as well as Finion and PAYDUE, two brands focusing on factoring and debt collection management.
More information about the company is available on the website: www.sportalliance.com
