Kraftwerk Fitness plans Spain push with 12 new low-cost gyms

Kraftwerk Fitness is preparing one of the sharpest pushes into Spain’s low-cost gym market this year, with plans to invest between €7 million and €12 million to open 12 clubs and expand from nine sites to 22. That leap would take the German chain into Madrid and Barcelona for the first time and turn Spain into its second market after the Canary Islands.

Barcelona is the clearest pressure point. Kraftwerk’s Catalonia pipeline already includes clubs in Gavà and Gurb, both in the province of Barcelona, which points to a deliberate focus on commuter corridors and lower-rent catchments rather than a straight fight for prime city-center addresses. That is exactly where low-cost fitness operators can scale fastest, with dense populations, accessible sites and high member turnover doing more of the work than premium branding.

The move arrives after a rapid change in Spain’s competitive map. In December 2023, RSG Group said it would sell its 47 Spanish clubs, including 42 McFIT studios and five Holmes Place clubs, to Basic-Fit. Basic-Fit said it would rebrand and fully integrate those clubs into its Spanish network in 2024, while continuing to expand at pace. That leaves Kraftwerk entering a market where a major consolidation wave has already redrawn the fight for members, sites and monthly recurring revenue.

Kraftwerk has also sharpened its strategy as it scales. The chain completed four openings in 2024, after a prior plan that called for five Spanish openings and €5 million of investment. A 2025 plan lifted the ambition again, to four to seven clubs and €4 million, before the latest proposal raised the target to a dozen new gyms and a much larger capital envelope. Kraftwerk says its biggest leap will come in 2026.

The chain’s pricing gives a clearer read on how hard it intends to lean on value. Its Las Chafiras club in Tenerife is listed at 25,99€/4 weeks after an opening promotion of 1 euro, a signal that the brand is prepared to compete aggressively on entry price. Kraftwerk’s Spanish listings already show at least six clubs, including Las Chafiras and Miller Bajo in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, reinforcing the Canary Islands as its operational base before the mainland expansion.

Rafael Lirio, the former CEO of McFIT Spain, has been brought in to help steer the rollout. His background matters in a market where he spent 15 years running McFIT Spain and has previously argued that expansion would increasingly come through gym acquisitions. For Barcelona, the result is a direct test of how much room remains for another budget chain. If Kraftwerk gets its sites right, it could force rivals to sharpen pricing, upgrade facilities or chase acquisitions of their own. If it does not, the city may prove that even low-cost fitness has limits when too many operators chase the same monthly fee.