The Wellness Group S.A.

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What it is

WELLNESSGRP S.A. is the Ecuadorian company behind two gym brands: its own Phisique Wellness Club and the Smart Fit franchise, which it brought into Ecuador. Phisique was founded in 2003 and operates five premium gyms in Quito — at Plaza las Américas, Hotel Dann Carlton, Paseo San Francisco, the Swissôtel, and the Jardín Botánico.

Smart Fit opened in Ecuador in January 2018, and today runs six locations in Quito plus one each in Guayaquil and Manta. The combined Smart Fit network has grown to nine locations in Quito, two in Guayaquil, and one each in Manta, Cuenca, Machala, and Ambato.

The two brands serve opposite ends of the market on purpose: Phisique is a premium club; Smart Fit is an accessible, no-frills membership.

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Who owns it

Not published: the controlling shareholder(s) and their exact ownership percentages are not disclosed in the free public records of the Superintendencia de Compañías, Valores y Seguros (SCVS), on the BVG issuer page, or in the Primicias reporting reviewed for this profile. EMIS, drawing on SCVS data, records the company’s legal incorporation date as 21 March 1977, though Phisique itself dates to 2003.

Ecuador’s Ley de Mercado de Valores requires issuers to disclose beneficiary owners in their offering prospectus; that prospectus was not publicly accessible at time of publication.

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Who runs it

Diego Black holds the title of Gerente de Operaciones (Operations Manager) of Wellness Group, the company behind Phisique. Black has told Ecuadorian media the story of how Wellness Group was born two decades ago with the Phisique gym concept, incorporating yoga, Pilates, and TRX when those disciplines were still rare in Ecuador.

Not published: the name of the chief executive officer (CEO) or board chair is not identified in available free primary sources — the BVG issuer page and the SCVS public portal do not surface individual director names without purchase of a paid report.

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The money, in plain words

Smart Fit’s arrival — brought in by Wellnessgrp — drove a step-change in the company’s revenues; the two-brand strategy has made it the biggest revenue earner in Ecuadorian fitness. Its Smart Fit network alone spans fourteen cities across Ecuador.

Sales went from $3 million in 2017 to $17 million in 2024 — a 467% gain in seven years (our calculation), or roughly a 28% compound annual growth rate.

As of 2024 the company employs 459 people, and net revenue grew a further 13.18% into 2025 per SCVS data. Total assets grew 142% in the same recent period, reflecting heavy investment in new gym fitouts.

The net profit margin, however, fell in 2025 — a pattern common when a fast-growing fitness chain is spending heavily to open new locations before those locations reach full membership capacity. Exact profit figures are paywalled in third-party aggregators and were not available from free SCVS public filings at time of writing.

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What it is doing now

In 2025, WELLNESSGRP S.A. joined a cohort of new private-sector issuers — alongside Adelca, Uribe y Schwarzkopf, and Liga Profesional de Fútbol — tapping the Bolsa de Valores de Guayaquil for the first time. Private issuers collectively placed $83.9 million in new securities through the BVG by November 2025.

The company’s market debut is a bond-style issuance to fund continued expansion, not a sale of ownership shares.

On the brand side, Phisique recently inaugurated a new gym in Quito’s north, deploying virtual reality and artificial intelligence for personalised training, at a cost of $1 million. The new Quicentro Shopping location spans more than 1,200 square metres across three levels, with peak capacity of 300 people per hour.

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What to watch

• Margin recovery. Revenue is growing fast, but the net margin is under pressure. Investors in the company’s bonds should watch whether new gym openings reach breakeven quickly enough to restore profitability.
• Competitor entry. A new mega-gym called Ecus Fitness is opening in Cumbayá in 2025, built on 8,000 square metres — the largest in Ecuador — at a $1,800-per-head membership. This is direct competition for Phisique’s premium tier.
• Franchise terms. Smart Fit, born in Brazil in 2009, now operates in 14 Latin American countries. Any change in franchise fees or territorial rights from the Brazilian parent would directly affect Wellnessgrp’s biggest revenue driver.
• Disclosure quality. As a new public issuer the company will face rising expectations for audited financials. The current gap between SCVS-filed numbers and what investors can read freely is a risk for market confidence.

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This is news, not investment advice.