Health club operator Holmes Place has acquired Israel’s second largest fitness chain, Future Wave Fitness, in a deal worth €23m (US$26m, £20m).

Future Wave Fitness owns and operates the Go Active brand of health clubs, which currently has 10 sites and 15 corporate facilities with a combined membership of 40,000. The Go Active properties are spread across three segments – family-orientated, premium and mid-market.

According to Jonathan Fisher, CEO of Holmes Place Group, the acquisition will strengthen the company’s position as Israel’s leading fitness chain.

“There are very attractive synergies to be realised through the acquisition, both from the perspective of economies of scale and from the strengthening of human resources,” he told Health Club Management.

“The deal leaves Holmes Place in a very clear position of market leadership in Israel at a time when we’re looking to further expand with new openings in this market. This will focus particularly on our family format and our new premium low-cost brand Icon – originally launched in Poland and introduced to Israel in July of this year, with 15 Icon clubs set to open in this market over the next three-year period.”

Following the deal, it is expected that the Go Active Family and Premium clubs will be rebranded as Holmes Place facilities over the course of the next 12 months.