Urban Sports Club, the European market leader for sports flat rate memberships, has secured an 8-digit financing round led by Partech. The investment will be used to foster international growth, with a focus on strengthening the offer in France. The young company will open new cities, add new venues and invest in marketing activities to raise awareness for its offer and its studio partners. Urban Sports Club is the first German company to receive financing through the Partech Growth fund.
Urban Sports Club was founded in late 2012 in Berlin, when Benjamin Roth and Moritz Kreppel developed the concept of a flexible membership model with the goal to replace the traditional sports or fitness subscription models. The company’s single membership offering allows visiting over 3.000 venues in currently more than 30 cities in three countries (Germany, France and Italy).
The young company has pioneered an aggregator model in Europe, which allows its members to book activities or simply participate in free trainings at partner venues all with the use of a smartphone application. Memberships range from €29 to €129 per month, depending on access level, and can be used in all venues internationally. Urban Sports Club also addresses the need for comprehensive corporate benefits solutions by enabling companies large and small to add this flexible sports membership to their existing job perks.
Moritz Kreppel, CEO and Co-founder at Urban Sports Club, stated: “Our dream has always been to provide our members access to the largest sports offer in Europe at their fingertips. Partech is the right partner with the experience and network that will now support our strong international growth. Sports is our DNA, which is why we move fast. Hence we were also extremely satisfied with the fast and smooth investment process we experienced as founders working with Partech.”
In recent years Urban Sports Club expanded fast to other cities and countries, thanks to its organic growth and strategic M&A activities. After first setting foot in the French market in 2017, the company is now replicating its success across Europe with the recent opening of two cities in Italy. After growing the supply in Paris to over 300 venues, Urban Sports Club recently launched its second market in France, Lyon, where 25 venues are available from the start.
Explains Omri Benayoun, General Partner at Partech, commented: “When we came across co-founders Moritz (Kreppel) and Benjamin (Roth) earlier this year, it was love at first sight: we immediately knew they were an exceptional founding team and the right one to build the European leader in their field. We are very much looking forward to support them in this journey and help them accelerate their development, especially in France.”
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