Health club management company, Fitness Express, has been bought back by its original founders for £1.15m – three years after selling it for £3.4m.

The deal ends Crown Sports’ ownership of the firm that built its reputation in operating gyms in hotels and hospitality sector.

Dave Courteen and Steve Taylor founded the company in 1987 and based its operations near Norwich, Norfolk.

In the first 14 years, the company expanded its portfolio to 14 clubs and 15,000 members.

The duo then sold it to Crown Sports in 2001, which, at the time, was in the midst of an aggressive acquisition strategy.

The opportunity for the founding members to buy back the firm came after Crown Sports announced it intended to concentrate its focus on its standalone health club estate.

The agreed price of £1.15m means that Crown will suffer a £2.9m one-off hit against the original value of Fitness Express.

On describing the changes made to Fitness Express during the three-year Crown ownership, David Courteen said: “During their tenure, Crown invested heavily in the marketing and branding of Fitness Express. We now also have a new IT system at our head office and our membership database is software-based.”

Courteen said: “We are now looking to take the company back to where it was before the sale in 2001. We are looking to concentrate on the very close relationship with existing clients and looking to expand through the concept of contract management.” Details: www.fitnessexpress-partners.co.uk