MidOcean Partners, a middle market private equity firm with offices in London and New York, announced today that it had completed the acquisition of LA Fitness Plc (“LA Fitness”), a leading player in the UK health club market with 67 clubs throughout the UK.

Headquartered in London, LA Fitness is a recognized leader in the industry providing a superior fitness experience including state of the art equipment and swimming facilities in convenient mid-city and suburban locations..

“LA Fitness is uniquely positioned to take advantage of the significant growth opportunities in the health and fitness market,” said Christian Purslow, the MidOcean partner who leads the Firm’s European leisure practice. We are firmly of the view that LA Fitness, with its consistent model and emphasis on value and convenience is a unique platform to take advantage of long term growth trends. Fred Turok and his team at LA Fitness are recognized as one of the strongest management teams in the industry and we are pleased to partner with Fred to take LA Fitness to the next level.”

Fred Turok, CEO of LA Fitness commented “This is an exciting time to be in the fitness business and I am eager to continue to build this business with MidOcean’s support. MidOcean has significant prior experience in the leisure sector and brings unique expertise on the client management and marketing side of the business which will be critical as we expand our operations and product offerings.”

Citigroup acted as financial advisors to MidOcean Partners. Close Brothers acted as financial advisors to LA Fitness. Linklaters acted as legal advisors to MidOcean Partners for the tender process. RBS, Calyon and Lloyds TSB are providing the senior debt financing. Cerberus is providing the mezzanine financing.

MidOcean Partners is a premier private equity firm focused on the middle market. Based in New York and London, MidOcean is committed to investing in high-quality middle market companies with stable market positions and opportunities for growth in the United States and Europe. Targeted sectors include consumer and leisure, media and communications, business services, financial services and industrial sectors. MidOcean utilizes a broad foundation of expertise in its focus industries and its intercontinental platform to create value for its investors and partners.