Belgian private equity firm GIMV has acquired a 49 per cent stake in the Russian health club chain and fitness consultant Strata Partners, which operates the Orange Fitness and CityFitness brands.

Established in 1999, Strata operates 16 fitness centres in Russia and Moldova and expects to open 10 more clubs this year. Between now and 2010, the group plans to invest at least US$60m (£34.4m, 50.5m euro) in launching a total of 60 clubs.

Anastasia Yusina, CEO of Strata Partners, said: “We founded Strata from scratch and within three years the company became the third largest operator on the Russian market, according to the number of clubs. Building further on this strong market position and in order to seize the fast growth of the Russian fitness market, we decided to attract the expertise of an external financial investor.”

Jan De Wijngaert, investment director at GIMV, added: “Russian fitness is becoming a very attractive business for foreign investment companies. We are enthusiastic in supporting Strata Partners in its development to become the number one Russian fitness chain."