Grupo Fitness Project was founded in 2004 in Guadalajara. It began as a gym, and four years later, they opened a second one. However, their business model changed in 2012 when they transitioned to managing public sports facilities. Their spectacular growth has continued to this day: they now operate in a hundred municipalities across Spain with a unique model that has specific financing needs. With the advice of Kaizen Consulting, they have met these needs and aim to consolidate their business plan by achieving sustained growth. Óscar Delgado, the company manager, explains this in an interview.
– Grupo Fitness Project has evolved significantly over 20 years. How did the shift from gyms to managing sports facilities occur?
It was triggered by the arrival of large operators in Spain with low-cost models, which presented new and aggressive competition. We had two gyms and decided to use our experience in a different field, thus moving into the management of public services. Many municipalities needed managers for their sports facilities and equipment provision. In 2012, we started working for municipalities, participating in public tenders. Today, we have three gyms, two in Guadalajara and one in Lepe (Huelva), but they only account for about 5% of our business. We manage sports facilities and organize activities: we are present in 100 municipalities and operate in about 130 facilities.
– How did you achieve such exponential growth?
Before the pandemic, the company employed about 500 people, and now we have 1,400 across Spain. We have gained experience and have a consolidated model: we found many municipalities with facilities but lacking the material and capacity to manage and organize activities. We focus on sports management where margins are small but the benefit is clearly defined. So, we decided to grow and scale up. Initially, we operated mainly in the central region, but we have expanded to other regions.
– Why did you turn to Kaizen Consulting?
We needed a line of financing to purchase sports machinery and equipment. Besides payroll, this is our largest expense: we acquire material that we rent or sell to municipalities. It’s a significant outlay, as it is one of our main services that has grown considerably. If we used the company’s profits for this, we risked becoming over-leveraged. To secure this liquidity, we sought advice from Kaizen Consulting. We needed agility, we knew a member of their team, and we trusted their ability to help us.
– What financing solutions did you need?
Financiers, in general, have tightened credit granting and conditions. We need quick responses because when we win a tender, we have deadlines and need the right liquidity to invest in the material offered in our proposals. Kaizen provided us with that agility, offering banking credit solutions and leasing loans that suited us, allowing us to sign and take on our investments. Now we are obtaining the liquidity we need to purchase the material required for each project.
– What future plans does the company have?
Our goal is to consolidate where we are already working and grow by providing more services to the municipalities that are already our clients. In most cases, if you do a good job, you have the chance to continue managing facilities. Additionally, we want to offer activities: from courses to camps and events. Our work is based on trust and providing good service to win public tenders. We have grown because clients ask us for new services, we have experience, and what works in one municipality can be successfully developed in others. We have also grown significantly as providers of specialized technical services that few companies can offer. Our clients often show us new business opportunities by requesting more services, and we adapt to their demand.
– What would you highlight about working with Kaizen Consulting?
The ease of receiving proposals and solutions, along with the agility in responding to our liquidity needs. Additionally, the close relationship. For a company like ours, it is unfeasible to have such specialized finance experts on the team. It is ideal for us to outsource this management to Kaizen and be assured of liquidity for our operations.
