Trive Capital invested in two Crunch Fitness franchisees last year.
The newer of the two deals was in partnership with 808 Capital Partners to invest in Crunch Canada, the country’s largest franchisee.
The nearly 40-year-old Crunch Fitness franchisee group has grown to 34 gyms in Ontario and Alberta, Canada, including more than a dozen sub-franchised clubs. Crunch Canada is the master franchisee for the country.
“We wanted to grow,” Crunch Canada CEO Wes Hodgson said. “We were looking for a strategic partner that aligned with our vision, our goals and, more importantly, our core values. We really just hit it off with (Trive). The partnership made a lot of sense.”
Hodgson said Crunch Fitness is poised for growth, so it was the right time for him to find an investor.
The franchisor ranked No. 39 on the Franchise Times Fast & Serious rankings for its 21 percent three-year unit growth rate from 2021 through 2023. Sales increased by 74 percent in that time, ending 2023 with $957 million in system sales.
“My team would probably tell you that ‘more’ is my favorite word,” Crunch Fitness CEO Jim Rowley told Franchise Times in November. “I don’t necessarily mean more money or more this or more that. I mean that we can always give a little bit more … because I think that extra little bit every single day, every single opportunity, is what creates bigger opportunities.”
Trive, a private equity firm based in Dallas, did not respond to requests for comment. It’s also an investor in beverage franchise HTeao. 808 Capital Partners is a Maui, Hawaii-based independent sponsor led by Eric Epstein, who is also a shareholder in Crunch operator Fitness Holdings North America.
Related: Crunch Fitness Harnesses Value to Drive Double-Digit Sales Growth
Crunch Canada started in 1976 when Hodgson’s father, Martin, opened its first gym. Wes Hodgson took over the Cambridge, Ontario-based company in 2010. With Trive’s investment, Hodgson looks to nearly triple its unit count to 85 to 90 locations in the next three to five years.
“We’ve gone through the growing pains of growing from one into a large, multi-unit operator—growing our team, growing our leadership,” he said. “Evolving to the next step of having an institutional capital partner was the obvious next step for growth.”
Last June, Trive and 808 invested in JF Fitness of North America, a Crunch franchisee based in Richmond, Virginia, with about two dozen gyms.
In connection with that investment, JF Fitness acquired Team Roldan, an eight-unit Crunch franchisee with gyms in Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina. That deal made JF Fitness one of the largest Crunch operators.