Glasgow fitness brand beefs up global presence

A Glasgow-based fitness brand whose customers include Celtic Football Club and Soho House has secured what it says is its largest international deal to date to exclusively distribute its products in South Africa.

Primal, which specialises in designing and equipping gyms, has completed the six-figure contract with

Virgin Active in South Africa to use its products in more than 130 health clubs in the country, with rollout having already begun. The deal complements a global customer base encompassing major gym chains, luxury hotel groups, top sports clubs, elite athletes – including two-time World’s Strongest Man Tom Stoltman’s Stoltman Strength Centre in Invergordon – and celebrities such as Outlander star Paul Donnelly.

Primal’s turnover reached £15.5 million in the year ending April 2023, up 300 per cent since 2019, and is predicted to exceed £20m this financial year. It is already present in more than 25 countries, spanning Europe and the UAE, for example.

Primal founder and chief executive Steven Rinaldi, who led the new Virgin Active project alongside its UK team and South African distributor Omnia, hailed the latest deal, saying: “It’s taken nearly two years of product trials and negotiations to achieve our goal of supplying one of the leading global gym chains. In seven years we have taken Primal from a start-up to a major challenger on the world stage.”

Zeyd Sulaiman, head of equipment, Virgin Active South Africa, said: “Having discovered the Primal brand at [global fitness, wellness, and health trade show] FIBO 2022, we were impressed by the overall build quality of their product range.”