Gold’s Gym acquiring The Rush, including in Oak Ridge

 

Gold’s Gym announced Monday that it has signed a deal to acquire The Rush Fitness Complex, a regional gym chain that has 23 clubs in Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee, including in Oak Ridge.

The deal is officially slated to close in the next month, Gold’s Gym said in a press release Monday.

As part of the agreement, the 23 Rush Fitness clubs will be rebranded under the Gold’s Gym name. The rebranding is expected to be complete by the end of the year. The clubs will remain open throughout the transition, the company said in the press release. All existing memberships will be honored at the new locations, automatically converting to Gold’s Gym memberships without any interruption to current members.

Current members will also be given the option to gain travel privileges to the Gold’s Gym network of more than 700 locations in 38 states and 28 countries, the press release said.

All 23 of the new locations will be corporate-owned, and the brand’s corporate-owned gym portfolio will grow to 146. That’s up 40 percent from 104 corporate-owned gyms in July 2013, just one year ago, and an 80 percent increase from 81 corporate-owned gyms in July 2012, Gold’s Gym said in the release.

“Following steady growth this last quarter, which included the acquisition of Aspen Athletic Clubs, we are excited to kick off the second half of the year with this announcement,” said Gold’s Gym President Aaron Watkins. “There were obvious synergies between The Rush Fitness Complex offerings and Gold’s Gym offerings, which is why this deal was attractive to us. We look forward to providing award-winning service and helping these new members of the Gold’s Gym family reach their individual fitness goals.”

The deal marks the entry of Gold’s Gym into several new markets, including Knoxville and Chattanooga in Tennessee; Dalton, Georgia; and Asheville, North Carolina. In the Triad region in north-central North Carolina, the newly acquired clubs will join an existing Gold’s Gym location in Winston Salem, North Carolina, which is independently owned and operated by a current franchisee, the press release said.

“This is an exciting development for our Rush employees and members,” said David Carney, president and chief executive officer of The Rush. “We share a similar operating philosophy with Gold’s Gym along with a passion for customer service. Our members and employees will now be part of one of the strongest brands in the industry.”

Other local clubs that will become Gold’s Gyms as part of the deal are located in Lenoir City, Knoxville Center Mall, Farragut, West Knoxville, Alcoa, and Chapman Highway.

See the Gold’s Gym website for a complete list of the new locations.