Optisport
Optisport is the market-leading operator of public sports and leisure facilities in the Netherlands and Belgium, managing ~400 sites — swimming pools, ice rinks, fitness clubs, and sports halls — for 80+ municipalities while serving 20 million consumer visits annually, with ~2,500 employees and EUR 160M in turnover.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1994
- HeadquartersTilburg, Netherlands
- Headcount5,001–10,000
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingServices
What Optisport does
Optisport Exploitaties B.V. (founded 1994, headquartered in Tilburg, Netherlands) is the market-leading operator of public sports and leisure accommodations in the Netherlands and Belgium. The company manages approximately 400 facilities — including 83 swimming pools, 5 indoor ice rinks, 21 Optisport Health Club fitness centers, and a wider network of indoor sports halls — under long-term contracts with more than 80 municipalities. It employs ~2,500 staff, welcomes roughly 20 million consumer visits per year, and reports approximately EUR 160 million in annual turnover.
The product portfolio is organized around five activity pillars: swimming (the Zed & Sop national curriculum for children aged 4+, Liz & Wes Spetterles baby/toddler program for ages 0–4, recreational and lane swimming, and Aqua'Groepslessen group water-fitness), fitness (21 Health Clubs with combined gym, pool, and group-class access), ice skating (5 rinks with lessons delivered via Duosport and Sven Kramer Academy), indoor sport (sports hall rental for football, hockey, korfball, martial arts, yoga), and adjacent consumer activities (padel via The Padellers partnership, glow golf, bowling, mini-golf, children's party packages, and horeca). Supporting offerings include corporate event hosting, school swimming programs, and recreational swimming. The technology layer is operationally light: a Drupal-based corporate website, the Mijn Optisport self-serve customer portal for bookings and the Leerlingvolgsysteem (student tracking) system, and standard social media presence on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube.
Revenue is generated across five streams: managed-service exploitation contracts with municipalities (the B2G core, providing revenue floor and length-of-tenor stability), recurring subscriptions for swimming lessons and fitness memberships (B2C), usage-based entry fees for recreational activities, on-site hospitality, and venue rental for events and children's parties. Multiple ISO certifications (ISO 9001 quality, ISO 50001 energy, VCA safety, Schoon & Veilig) anchor the compliance posture required for municipal procurement. Growth is delivered through a mix of new contract wins (e.g., Sportpark Glanerbrook from May 2026 for 13 years), programmatic tuck-in M&A (Aquayara in Almere, Capital Sports Zwijndrecht), and partner-vertical expansion (padel), with a refresh of the C-suite (CEO Albert Arp from July 2025, CFO Niels Vaessen from January 2026) signaling the start of a new strategic phase.
Optisport firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Optisport
- Legal name
- Optisport Exploitaties B.V.
- Website
- https://optisport.nl
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1994
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 5,001–10,000 employees
- Short description
- Optisport is the market-leading operator of public sports and leisure facilities in the Netherlands and Belgium, managing ~400 sites — swimming pools, ice rinks, fitness clubs, and sports halls — for 80+ municipalities while serving 20 million consumer visits annually, with ~2,500 employees and EUR 160M in turnover.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Where Optisport is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Tilburg
- HQ country
- Netherlands
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices3 records
Markets served
Optisport business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain
Revenue model
- Public Facility Operation Contracts: Optisport operates sports facilities (swimming pools, ice rinks, sports halls) under long-term contracts with municipalities. Revenue comes from municipal contracts for exploitation and management of public sports facilities.
- Swimming Lessons: Revenue from teaching swimming lessons for children (starting from 0-4 years with baby swimming), children from age 4, and adults. The company uses the Zed & Sop swimming program.
- Fitness Memberships: Health Club memberships offering access to fitness facilities, swimming pools, and group classes at Optisport Health Clubs.
- Recreational Activities: Entry fees and tickets for recreational swimming, ice skating, and other sports activities at Optisport facilities.
- Horeca (Catering/Hospitality): Food and beverage sales at Optisport facilities, including restaurants and cafes within sports complexes.
- Event Hosting and Party Packages: Revenue from hosting children's birthday parties, corporate events, and family outings at Optisport locations.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Monthly | Swimming lessons for various age groups |
| Subscription | Monthly | Fitness memberships at Health Clubs |
| Subscription | Monthly | Baby and toddler swimming (Liz & Wes Spetterles) |
| Other | Pay-as-you-go | Narrowcasting advertising |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels8 records
Optisport product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Optisport develops, operates, and manages public sports and leisure facilities across the Netherlands and Belgium, including approximately 400 locations comprising 83 swimming pools, 21 fitness centers (Health Clubs), 5 ice rinks, and multiple sports halls. The company manages these facilities under long-term contracts with over 80 municipalities while also offering swimming lessons, fitness memberships, group classes, recreational activities, children's parties, and corporate events directly to consumers.
Product overview
Optisport is a sports facility management company operating approximately 400 locations across the Netherlands and Belgium, making it the market leader in public sports facility exploitation. The company offers a comprehensive portfolio organized around five core pillars: Optisport Zwembaden (83 swimming pools), Optisport Health Clubs (21 fitness centers combining gym, swimming, and group classes), Optisport Ijsbanen (5 ice rinks), and Sporthallen (sports halls). The product ecosystem includes the Zed & Sop swimming lesson program for children, Liz & Wes baby/toddler swimming, Aqua'Groepslessen water fitness classes, and Optisport Health Club fitness memberships with unique combined swimming and gym access. Supporting offerings encompass recreational activities (ice skating, padel, glow golf, bowling, mini golf), children's birthday party packages, corporate events, restaurant/horeca services, and facility rental. The Zed & Sop national swimming program uses character-based learning (Zed the shark, Sop the starfish) with progressive diploma levels (A, B, C). The company operates on a B2G (government) and B2C model, partnering with 80+ municipalities for public facility management while serving individual consumers directly.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Zed & Sop Swimming Lessons
Quantifiable outcome
- 20 million visitors annually brought in motion
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Optisport
Customer profileNamed customers5 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Optisport technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration3 records
Optisport partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- DuosportcoreDuosport provides skating courses at various ice rinks operated by Optisport. They offer lessons for youth and adults, beginners and advanced skaters, schools and companies. Duosport instructors teach the finer points of skating at Optisport ice rinks.
- Sven Kramer Academy (SKA)coreSven Kramer Academy provides professional skating instruction at Optisport ice rinks, offering courses for all levels from beginner to advanced skaters.
- Bedrijfsfitness NederlandminorCorporate fitness partnership allowing employees to receive significant discounts on Optisport Health Club memberships through their employer.
- Go-VitalminorCorporate wellness partnership enabling employee fitness subscriptions at discounted rates through employer programs.
- The PadellerscoreThe Padellers operates padel courts at Optisport locations (Stadskanaal, Uitgeest). They handle padel bookings and operations as a partner brand within Optisport facilities.
- Clingendael Media GroepminorAdvertising partner for Optisport narrowcasting system. Handles sales and service for advertising opportunities on Optisport digital screens at their venues.
- AquaayaracoreAcquired two swimming pools and swim school in Almere, continuing operations under Optisport brand since May 1, 2024.
Scale indicators10 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Optisport competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- SportCity: Dutch premium fitness chain with multiple sites in the Netherlands. Competes with Optisport Health Clubs for fitness subscribers in overlapping Dutch geographies.
- Basic-Fit: Largest low-cost fitness chain in the Netherlands and Belgium with hundreds of 24/7 locations. Competes with Optisport's Health Club segment but operates a fundamentally different low-cost, asset-light, digital-first model.
Regional players
- Everyone Active: UK operator of leisure facilities on behalf of local councils, including swimming pools, gyms, and sports halls — comparable in B2G operating model to Optisport's Dutch municipal contracts.
- Serco Leisure: International public services operator with a leisure facilities division managing pools, gyms, and sports centers under government contracts in the UK, Australia, and the Middle East — comparable outsourced-leisure-services model.
- GLL / Better: UK-based non-profit leisure trust operating public leisure facilities (swimming, fitness, sports halls) under local authority contracts — the closest UK analog to Optisport's municipal sports facility model.
- Alliance Plus: French operator of municipal sports and leisure facilities (pools, ice rinks, fitness), directly comparable in business model to Optisport but operating exclusively in France.
Direct peers
- Sportfondsen Nederland: Dutch operator of public sports and swimming facilities under long-term municipal contracts, directly comparable to Optisport's core B2G facility management model in the Netherlands.
- ForActiv: Netherlands-based operator of sports accommodations, swimming pools, and ice rinks under municipal contracts, overlapping closely with Optisport's portfolio of public facility concessions.
- Pellikaan: Dutch developer and operator of sports and leisure facilities, including swimming pools and fitness centers, frequently working with municipalities — comparable in scope and customer base to Optisport.
- De Wissel: Dutch sports and recreation facility operator providing swimming lessons, fitness, and sports programs through municipal partnerships, comparable to Optisport's local-level B2G/B2C model.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Optisport social profiles
Digital presenceOptisport compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance4 records
Optisport financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Optisport leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles4 records
Optisport subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries2 records
Optisport funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors1 record
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Optisport M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Optisport
What does Optisport do?
Optisport develops, operates, and manages public sports and leisure facilities across the Netherlands and Belgium, including approximately 400 locations comprising 83 swimming pools, 21 fitness centers (Health Clubs), 5 ice rinks, and multiple sports halls. The company manages these facilities under long-term contracts with over 80 municipalities while also offering swimming lessons, fitness memberships, group classes, recreational activities, children's parties, and corporate events directly to consumers.
Is Optisport a public or private company?
Optisport is a private company. It is classified as private equity controlled and is currently operating.
When was Optisport founded?
Optisport was founded in 1994. It employs 5,001 to 10,000 people.
Where is Optisport based?
Optisport is headquartered in Tilburg, Netherlands, in the Europe region.
How does Optisport make money?
Six revenue lines are on record. Public Facility Operation Contracts are the primary driver. The others are swimming Lessons, fitness Memberships, recreational Activities, horeca (Catering/Hospitality) and event Hosting and Party Packages.
Who are Optisport's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are SportCity and Basic-Fit. Regional players are Everyone Active, Serco Leisure, GLL / Better and Alliance Plus. Direct peers are Sportfondsen Nederland, ForActiv, Pellikaan and De Wissel.
Does Optisport have an API?
No public API is recorded for Optisport.