Welsh fitness business AFLUENCR in multi-million dollar Kiwi acquisition

Welsh fitness company AFLUENCR, led by Founder and CEO Gareth Manger, today announced a multi-million-dollar (NZ) acquisition by New Zealand based MacroActive, the transactional SaaS platform powering many of the world’s most influential online health and fitness professionals.

A former junior Welsh judo champion, Manger established AFLUENCR through his passion for fitness and desire to help other fitness entrepreneurs successfully scale their online businesses.  Launched in 2019, AFLUENCR is a full-service agency offering management, strategic planning, digital advertising and bespoke design services on top of the white labelled MacroActive fitness, mindset and nutrition platform.

Manger will now join the executive leadership team of MacroActive as Chief Revenue Officer and aims to further grow the business in his new role.

The acquisition will have a significant positive impact on AFLUENCR’s Cardiff base, with a series of new leadership and recruitment opportunities opening up as MacroActive invests further in developing its UK headquarters.

On the announcement, Manger said: “We are delighted to be partnering with MacroActive and it couldn’t have come at a better time – in this current environment, health and fitness is more important than ever. Combining the two businesses will allow us to serve our clients better, with a broader range of services and provide around the clock customer service, supported by MacroActive’s global presence.

“It’s also fantastic to see the impact this will have on our staff here in Cardiff. We’ll shortly be expanding our office space and beginning a recruitment drive to ensure that, as representatives for the EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa), we are continuing to build a strong, forward-thinking team that can carry the business forward.”

MacroActive CEO Ken Brickley adds: “By joining forces, we are stronger together and now unmistakably the smartest competitive offering on the market for fitness professionals ready to scale their impact. We’ve always been tenacious advocates for our entrepreneurs and firmly believe in helping them build enduring assets instead of trading social posts for paychecks.”

In the rapidly growing creator economy, both companies see the value of using their clients’ collective online reach of more than 100 million people to address two of the major health issues highlighted by the recent pandemic – mental health and obesity.

With the acquisition in place, MacroActive, headquartered in Auckland, New Zealand, can now add Wales to its growing list of overseas operations which currently include the United States, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Chile and Russia.