Retro Fitness Signs Multi-Unit Deal for Utah

Retro Fitness has signed a multi-unit development agreement with the Kerry Holt Group, setting up the high-value, low-price gym brand's expansion into Utah and the broader Mountain West. The group is partnering with Greg Harris and James Davidson, franchisees who already operate Retro Fitness's existing club in Cedar City, taking a single-location proof point and turning it into a multi-market development plan.

A Model Attracting Investor Groups, Not Just Operators

Retro Fitness confirmed the agreement covers multiple locations but declined to disclose the exact count or which states beyond Utah the group could eventually enter. That's consistent with how the brand has been selling development deals this year, it's drawing both traditional owner-operators and larger investor groups willing to back a market rather than a single club, a shift from a system once built mostly on individual owner-operators.

What the HVLP Format Offers Multi-Unit Buyers

Retro's turnkey program covers real estate, site selection, construction, marketing, accounting, and operations, and the brand also offers management agreements for investors who want ownership without day-to-day involvement. For a group entering a new region with no existing footprint, that support structure lowers the execution risk of committing to several locations before the first one proves out.

Reading the Utah Expansion in Context

This is Retro Fitness's second notable multi-unit signing in recent weeks, following an August deal with a veteran QSR franchisee entering the New York market. Taken together, the two agreements show a brand actively courting operators from outside traditional fitness ownership, hospitality groups, real estate investors, and multi-brand QSR operators, betting that operational experience elsewhere translates into gym management just as well as it did in restaurants or hotels.