Equinox Group appointed Brendan Whitworth as CEO and a director, pairing a leadership change with an expansion plan that includes more than $1 billion for clubs and member services after a completed refinancing.
The company said the refinancing strengthened its balance sheet and provided capital for its club network, member experience and broader growth. Existing investors also contributed additional equity.
Harvey Spevak, whom Equinox says has led the company since 1999, is to become chairman. The company gave no effective date for either appointment. Whitworth most recently led Anheuser-Busch.
Equinox says it operates 118 clubs in 18 markets and has roughly 50 more in its pipeline. Its plans include speeding up openings, entering new markets and investing in existing locations and member offerings. The company also cited double-digit topline growth and record membership and club activity, without specifying the periods covered by those claims.
In March 2024, Equinox announced a separate financing of about $1.8 billion to refinance maturing loans and support corporate needs and growth, including new clubs. That announcement named Sixth Street and Silver Lake as transaction leaders.
The Financial Times reported Sept. 3 that Equinox's owners were in funding discussions intended to support club openings and lower interest costs, and that the company had $1.8 billion in high-cost loans. Equinox's Nov. 2 announcement did not identify the completed refinancing as the funding discussed in that report.
