By: Scott Way
The Freedom Boat Club, the largest boat club in the world, has been undergoing major expansion since being purchased by Brunswick Corporation in 2019. The club saw a 61% increase in membership in 2020, coupled with some significant acquisitions like its 250th location in December 2020, and has made other moves including acquisitions in Chicago, New York, and Charleston, South Carolina already in 2021. Now the company has set its sights on the European market.
The club has just announced that it has acquired Fanautic Club, one of the largest European boat clubs with 23 locations situated across Spain and over 600 members. The move increases Freedom's market share in Europe where they previously only had 3 locations in France. 6 of the 23 locations will be operated as corporate entities under Brunswick, while the other 17 will remain franchises.
“Spain is one of the great boating destinations in Europe, and we are thrilled for the opportunity to serve the members of Fanautic Club and continue our growth across coastal Spain. Expanding our presence across tier one European markets is consistent with the aggressive shared-access growth plans that our leadership team outlined during Brunswick’s recent Investor Day presentation” said Jason Worthy, vice president of boating services, in a company statement.
“There are many synergies between Fanautic Club and Freedom Boat Club,” said Diego Orallo, co-founder of Fanautic. “Freedom is the most established boat club brand in the world, and we look forward to welcoming them to Spain and supporting their continued success.”
Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
