The leading global franchisee for the brand now owns and operates more than 100 locations and is poised for continued new studio openings and acquisitions
Atlanta-based Honors Holdings, LLC (Honors), the world’s largest franchisee of Orangetheory® Fitness studios has acquired 24 studios across six states, including operations in Las Vegas, New York City and the Washington, D.C. metro area.
With these acquisitions, Honors now owns and operates 102 studios in Georgia, Kansas, Massachusetts, Nevada, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and Washington state. Honors also supports more than 50 sub franchisee locations across numerous markets as an area representative for the franchisor.
Since its founding in 2014, Jamie Weeks, founder and CEO of Honors, and his team have rapidly grown the company’s portfolio while continuing to keep the focus on its members and employees.
“The Honors standard has always been to provide the best experience for everyone,” says Weeks. “Our growth can’t be achieved without focusing on the health of our new and existing members, employees and local communities. We were fortunate to weather the pandemic while still paying our employees, and we’ve remained focused on providing tools to help our team, studio members and local communities grow.”
Over the last year, Honors has offered mental and physical health resources, including free Headspace subscriptions, for employees. Additionally, it has integrated AIRPHX’s proprietary air and surface disinfection technology in all its owned studios. Finally, it has committed to providing memberships for 3,600 nurses in Metro Atlanta as a token of its appreciation for these essential frontline workers.
These new acquisitions mark a return to the aggressive growth the franchisee delivered prior to the pandemic. Honors’ company-owned studios grew from 14 at the end of 2017 to more than 70 in the first quarter of 2020, including more than 20 new studio openings during this period. Honors anticipates returning to similar organic growth with plans to open more than 20 new studios in the upcoming year.
“We’re fortunate to have an amazing franchisor in Orangetheory® Fitness — we couldn’t ask for a better partner,” says Weeks. “Over the last year, we experienced the commitment of their leadership team firsthand as we worked together to address the challenges of the pandemic. The members have always been the number one priority for all Orangetheory® franchisees.”
In addition to Prospect Hills Growth Partners, Honors’ majority equity partner since 2017, the company recently received a preferred equity investment from an affiliate of Denver-based KSL Capital Partners, LLC.
“Honors has a deep passion and commitment to a member-first approach, so it was only natural that we’d seek out and identify a partner like KSL that focuses on operational excellence and collaborative partnerships to support our continued growth,” says Weeks.
Latham & Watkins, LLP, and Greenberg Traurig served as legal counsel to Honors for the recent acquisitions. Piper Sandler & Co. served as financial advisor to Honors in connection with the investment by KSL Capital Partners. Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP represented legal counsel for KSL.
About Honors Holdings, LLC
Honors Holdings, founded in 2014 by Jamie Weeks and headquartered in Atlanta, is the world’s largest franchisee of Orangetheory® Fitness studios. Honors Holdings owns and operates over 100 studios. Since its founding, Honors has completed 18 acquisitions consisting of more than 50 Orangetheory® Fitness locations. Honors has more than 1,000 employees in 12 states.
About Orangetheory® Fitness
Orangetheory® Fitness makes it simple to get More Life from your workout. One of the world’s fastest-growing franchise companies, Orangetheory Fitness has developed a unique approach to fitness that blends a unique trifecta of science, coaching and technology that work together seamlessly to elevate participants’ heart rates to help burn more calories. Backed by the science of excess post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC), Orangetheory Fitness workouts incorporate endurance, strength and power to generate the “Orange Effect,” whereby participants keep burning calories for up to 24 hours after a 60-minute workout. Orangetheory Fitness franchisees have opened over 1,400 studios in all 50 U.S. states and over 25 countries. The company was ranked #60 in Inc. magazine’s Fastest Growing Private Companies list and was listed as #9 on Entrepreneur’s 2020 Fastest Growing Franchise list. Visit orangetheory.com for more information.
About Prospect Hill Growth Partners, L.P.
Prospect Hill Growth Partners (www.prospecthillgrowth.com) is a Boston-area private equity firm that makes control equity investments in North American consumer and healthcare growth companies. The partners at Prospect Hill have collectively invested $2.8 billion of capital in 37 portfolio companies over two decades. The partners successful investment track record has been built on their sector-focused investment strategy and expertise, a robust operational value-add model, and strong alignment of interests.
About KSL Capital Partners
KSL Capital Partners, LLC is a private equity firm specializing in travel and leisure enterprises in five primary sectors: hospitality, recreation, clubs, real estate and travel services. KSL has offices in Denver, Colorado; Stamford, Connecticut; London, England and Singapore. Since 2005, KSL has raised approximately $14 billion of capital across both debt and equity funds. KSL’s current portfolio includes some of the premier properties in travel and leisure. For more information visit www.kslcapital.com.
