Fitness First, Frederick, MD, has acquired two clubs in the state of Maryland.
The company acquired the former Frederick Athletic Club that has more than 23,000 square feet and another property in Gaithersburg, MD, that is 17,670 square feet.
Peter Harvey, owner of Fitness First, which has 17 locations throughout Washington, DC, Maryland and Virginia, says the two acquisitions are the first two pieces of real estate that the company now owns. (The rest of the clubs are leases.) Harvey confirmed a local real estate report that the company paid $5.35 million for the two clubs.
Fitness First took over the former Frederick Athletic Club, now the company’s largest club, earlier this spring, Harvey says. The Gaithersburg club is expected to open by the end of this year.
“We’re absolutely the largest chain in Maryland, and we’re locally owned,” Harvey says. “There’s no venture capital money in there, and there’s very little debt. We’ve done really well.”
Fitness First was No. 31 on Club Industry’s Top 100 Clubs list last year with a reported $36.8 million in 2010 revenue.