Leading British health and wellbeing provider, Westfield Health, has announced its acquisition of European corporate fitness and wellbeing company High Five Health Promotion in a multi-million-pound deal.
The group’s third acquisition in under two years, this latest addition builds Westfield Health’s capabilities in the rapidly growing corporate health and wellbeing market, projected to be worth $66 billion by 2022.
Under the direction of CEO Dave Capper, Westfield Health has diversified into the corporate wellbeing market, offering workshops, health campaigns, screenings and on-site gym management.
By combining forces with High Five Health Promotion who provide onsite corporate fitness and wellbeing services to global brands such as Daimler, KPMG, Shell and NATO, Westfield Health hopes to further strengthen its whole-of-workforce proposition to drive market development and growth.
Reflecting on his decision to sell the company, High Five’s Founder, Paul Kienstra, said: “it was really important to us to find a company that shared our values and vision.
“With Westfield Health’s focus on evidence-based, preventative solutions and community giveback, it was clear that our shared philosophy and complementary capabilities would combine well, building on the success of both companies.”
Extending a warm welcome to the group’s newest member, Westfield Health Group CEO, Dave Capper, described what the acquisition meant for the 100-year-old business.
“Over its history, Westfield Health has built a track record of product innovation. This acquisition represents a continuation of our diversification into the exciting and important wellbeing market.
“By combining the two companies’ expertise, we can accelerate our growth in this industry both in the UK and internationally, allowing us to make a healthy difference to more people.”
With independent research showing that physical activity at work can reduce absenteeism by up to 20% and sick days by 27%, more and more businesses are expected to explore options for keeping their people active, such as coaching, movement spaces, virtual classes or gyms.
It’s an area where many UK businesses currently fall behind: recent research shows that only a quarter (26%) of employees have access to basic fitness facilities such as changing rooms at work.
With seven in ten people believing it’s an employer’s responsibility to support staff with their physical wellbeing, the Westfield Health group hopes to capitalise on growing employee demand with its latest acquisition.
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Acquisition details
• This is the Westfield Health Group’s third acquisition in two years. Previous acquisitions include UK Healthcare and Working Health, both in December 2017.
• High Five Health Promotion is headquartered in Holland where they are market leaders in the corporate gym market.
• High Five’s founder and owner is Paul Kienstra and the CEO is Eric Boer.
• The Westfield Health Group’s CEO is Dave Capper.
• There will now be a period of knowledge transfer to evaluate how the companies will best work together moving forwards.
About the Westfield Health Group
Formed in 1919, Westfield Health is an award-winning health and wellbeing provider with almost 500 employees and 65 gyms internationally.
Focused on preventative, evidence-based solutions, the Westfield Health group helps businesses keep their teams happy and healthy, improving business productivity and individuals’ quality of life.
Proud of its not-for-profit heritage, the organisation’s mission is to make a healthy difference, donating more than £15 million to charities and communities across the UK.
About High Five Health Promotion
Since 1988, High Five Health Promotion is the go-to-provider of corporate wellbeing with 54 corporate onsite gyms in The Netherlands, Germany, Belgium and the United Kingdom. Based on their 4 pillars, High Five Gyms, High Five Fitness Network, High Five Health and High Five Progress they bring over 400 businesses and over 80.000 employees in movement on a daily basis.
‘At High Five we believe that a healthy mind and body are the foundation of every super employee. In this fast-paced, demanding world, the desire for balance and personal health is bigger than ever. With our wide range of vitality services, we inspire everyone to become the motivated, energetic, focused, creative and well-balanced team player that is the super employee.
We empower company’s and employees to achieve all goals.
