Planet Fitness announced the acquisition on Thursday, 5 November. As reported by Dinheiro Vivo, the American company paid approximately €100 million when the transaction was completed, with a further €2.5 million dependent on agreed performance targets. The deal gives the group an established network in Portugal as it looks to grow its business beyond the United States.

For existing Be-Fit members, the immediate question is what this means for their usual workout. For now, the company says membership fees, club opening hours, class timetables and the teams working in the gyms will stay the same. Members can therefore continue using their clubs under their current conditions at this stage.

The more visible change will come gradually, as Be-Fit gyms begin adopting the Planet Fitness name. The company is also considering improvements to the clubs, including possible upgrades to cardio and strength training equipment, alongside the introduction of equipment and recovery services from its own range. These are being assessed, rather than presented as changes already confirmed for every location, NiT reports.

The acquisition also has an Algarve connection. Portimão is among the locations in the Be-Fit network, alongside cities including Leiria, Aveiro, Setúbal, Barreiro, Braga, Évora and Funchal. The deal therefore brings the American brand into several parts of the country through gyms that already have their own members and local teams.

Portugal becomes Planet Fitness’s second European market after Spain. Chief executive Colleen Keating described the purchase as part of the company’s ambition to enter one or two new international markets each year.

The group plans to run the Portuguese clubs directly initially, working with Be-Fit’s existing management team on the transition and looking for opportunities to open more locations. Further ahead, it expects to explore franchising, the model used by most of its clubs internationally. No timetable for that change in Portugal was given in the reports.

Be-Fit operates in the lower-cost gym market and was founded by Jorge Fernandes, who was born in Cologne, Germany, and returned to Portugal in 2014. Its network now stretches across mainland Portugal and Madeira. Planet Fitness sees that existing business as a starting point for further growth, with the acquisition expected to contribute to its earnings in 2027.

Founded in New Hampshire in 1992, Planet Fitness had 21.5m members and 2,962 clubs by the end of September 2026. It operates in the US and a number of other international markets (Canada, Mexico, Australia and Spain).

The brand promotes what it calls a “Judgement Free Zone”, aiming to make people feel comfortable in the gym regardless of their fitness level. In Portugal, its next task will be introducing that approach across the acquired clubs while building on Be-Fit’s existing membership.

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