By Ian McConnell

GLASGOW-based gym equipment and design specialist Primal Strength, which counts Celtic Football Club among its customers, has secured a multi-million-pound investment from private equity firm Flywheel Partners to accelerate its growth plans.

The firm, which noted its customers included “an array of celebrity clientele” as well as professional sports teams, said it would use “the investment and partnership with Flywheel to scale up the business and capture opportunities arising from the growth of strength training and post-lockdown health and wellness trends”.

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Primal Strength, which serves the commercial and home fitness markets, added that it had benefited from “soaring spend” on home workout equipment in the past year.

It predicts this trend is “set to continue alongside the return to commercial gyms post-lockdown”.

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Primal Strength, which offers more than 2,000 products, cited research from GlobalData showing more than half of UK consumers have purchased home workout products in the past year and in excess of three-quarters of people who have been working out from home plan to continue to do so post-pandemic.

Steven Rinaldi, managing director of Primal Strength, said: “The performance strength market, and our place within it, has continued to grow at pace as people increasingly recognise the importance of a hybrid approach to training combining both cardio and strength.

“As well as further increasing awareness of the link between physical and mental wellbeing, the Covid-19 pandemic has driven a different type of training too, as people recognise the dual benefits of convenience from working out at home combined with what a gym membership can offer. “

Mr Rinaldi added: “This investment will allow us to further drive our growth in response to these, and other market trends – from the significant rise in female strength training to the growth in boutique studios expanding rapidly across the UK.”