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Article: Branson takes control of Virgin Active for [pounds sterling]134m.
- Article from:
- The Evening Standard (London, England)
- Article date:
- October 5, 2005
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2005 Solo Syndication Limited. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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BY JIM ARMITAGE SIR Richard Branson's Virgin Group today bought 55% of fitness chain Virgin Active from its venture capitalist partner for [pounds sterling]134.5 million in a move giving the tycoon full ownership of the fastgrowing business.
Branson sold the stake to Bridgepoint in 2002 for [pounds sterling]110 million to raise funds for expansion. Since then, the management team has more than doubled the number of clubs in the UK to 25 and taken the chain to new markets such as Italy and Spain.
It now has 12 of its large, familyorientedclubs on the Continent as well as 77 in South Africa.
Bridgepoint started looking to cash in its stake earlier ...