Another day, another US fitness IPO. Following the news this week that budget chain Planet Fitness is to go public, US-based boutique cycling studio operator SoulCycle has confirmed it too will float on the stock market.
Yesterday’s (July 30) filing with US regulators came after weeks of speculation that SoulCycle would become the latest fitness company to undergo a public offering. Wall Street has shown an appetite for health and fitness floatations through both the warm reception to the Planet Fitness news and the
staggering response to Fitbit’s listing earlier this year, when shares jumped 60 per cent on opening.
SoulCycle has gained a cult following in the US, enhanced by celebrity fans such as David Beckham and Tom Cruise. The boutique offering has around 40 US studios with a heavy focus on New York, and is expected to operate up to 60 clubs worldwide by 2016.
In addition to its popular classes, the company also has a retail clothing line, the popularity of which helped SoulCycle increase net income by about 42 per cent to US$25.3m (€23m, £16m) in 2014.
In its filing on Thursday, the company outlined a nominal fundraising target of US$100m (€91m, £64m), although this could change. It also did not specify how many shares the company planned to sell, the expected price or the exchange on which it intends to list its shares.
Founded in 2006 by former real estate broker Elizabeth Cutler and former talent agent Julie Rice, the pair reportedly sold a majority stake to
Equinox Holdings – owned by real estate firm Related Cos and buyout firm Leonard Green & Partners LP – earlier this year.
