Solinca
Solinca is Portugal's leading fitness center chain, operating 35 owned gym locations under Solinca Classic, Solinca Light, and Urban Fit brands serving 115,000+ members nationwide with subscriptions from €2.99/week, personal training, nutrition, swimming, and group fitness classes.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1995
- HeadquartersPorto, Portugal
- Headcount501–1,000
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Solinca does
Solinca is a Portuguese fitness center chain operating 35 owned gym locations across Portugal's primary metropolitan markets — 19 in Greater Lisbon, 12 in Greater Porto, plus single locations in Coimbra, Braga, Guimarães, and Viana do Castelo. Founded in 1995 and headquartered in Maia under the SC Fitness, S.A. parent group, the company serves 115,000+ members through a multi-brand portfolio: Solinca Classic (full-service facilities with pools, spa circuits, and extensive equipment), Solinca Light (7 compact, lower-cost locations), and Urban Fit (acquired brand entities retained under the SC Fitness umbrella). The company employs between 501 and 1,000 staff.
Solinca's core offering combines gym floor access with modular service add-ons including personal training (Treino Personalizado), nutrition consultations with InBody and Accuniq body composition assessment equipment, swimming lessons for all ages (Natação, from 4-month-old babies onward), Kids fitness activities, and a diverse group fitness class portfolio spanning Les Mills licensed programs (RPM, Body Pump), toning, cardio, dance, and mind-body formats (yoga, Pilates). The technical platform is conventional for the fitness sector — physical equipment, in-person instruction, and standard web enrollment — with no proprietary software, app, or AI/ML capabilities disclosed. Member data is captured through the enrollment portal (inscricao.solinca.pt) and in-gym body composition scans.
The revenue model is subscription-based, with membership tiers (Total, Peak, Off Peak) priced from €2.99/week to €4.99/week with a 52-week minimum contract and mandatory first-two-periods prepayment, supplemented by ancillary service fees for personal training, nutrition, swimming, and Kids programming. Distribution is direct via owned retail locations, supported by online enrollment, in-person commercial consultants at each gym, digital marketing (Instagram, blog, email newsletter), and a corporate membership channel. The company operates exclusively in Portugal with no international footprint.
Solinca firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Solinca
- Legal name
- Solinca Classic, S.A.
- Website
- https://solinca.pt
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1995
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 501–1,000 employees
- Short description
- Solinca is Portugal's leading fitness center chain, operating 35 owned gym locations under Solinca Classic, Solinca Light, and Urban Fit brands serving 115,000+ members nationwide with subscriptions from €2.99/week, personal training, nutrition, swimming, and group fitness classes.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Solinca industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Fitness Center Services
- NAICS
- Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers (713940), Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers (71394), Sports and Recreation Instruction (61162)
- SIC
- Services-Membership Sports & Recreation Clubs (7997)
- akta.pro primary industry
- General Personal Training (In-Person & Virtual) (HSADAAAA)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Small-Group Personal Training (Semi-Private) (HSADAAAN)
Keywords
Where Solinca is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Porto
- HQ country
- Portugal
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices7 records
Markets served
Solinca business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Infrastructure, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D
Revenue model
- Gym Membership Subscriptions: Recurring membership fees charged on a bi-weekly or monthly basis. Memberships are available in different modalities (Total, Peak, Off Peak) with minimum 52-week contract requirements. Additional revenue from specialized services such as personal training, nutrition consultations, swimming lessons, and Kids activities.
- Ancillary Services: Revenue from additional services including personal training sessions, nutrition consultations, swimming lessons for all ages, Kids activities and birthday parties, and specialized assessments using InBody and Accuniq equipment.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Weekly | Standard membership from €2.99/week |
| Subscription | Weekly | Premium membership with full pool access from €4.99/week |
| Freemium | Pay-as-you-go | 1-day free trial available |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels6 records
Solinca product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Solinca operates a Portuguese fitness-center network offering gym memberships through Classic and Light club formats, with access to fitness equipment, group classes, pools and spa facilities where available. It also sells related services including personal training, nutrition consultations, swimming lessons, Kids activities and birthday parties.
Product overview
Solinca operates a national gym chain across Portugal with two distinct brands: Solinca Classic (full-service, 27+ locations with pools and spa circuits) and Solinca Light (budget-friendly, 7 locations with essential gym and group class access). Both brands provide access to fitness equipment and group classes. Core add-on services include Treino Personalizado (personal training), Nutrição (nutrition consultations with InBody/Accuniq body composition analysis), Natação (swimming lessons for all ages), and Kids activities. Group classes span Les Mills programs (RPM, Body Pump), toning, cardio, dance, yoga/Pilates, and express formats. The offering is a unified multi-brand fitness platform with modular add-on services rather than a single product.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Solinca Classic
- Solinca Light
- Personal Training [Treino Personalizado]
- Nutrition [Nutrição]
- Swimming [Natação]
- Kids
- Group Fitness Classes [Aulas de Grupo]
Quantifiable outcome
- Over 115,000 active members across Portugal
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Solinca
Customer profileNamed customers4 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Solinca technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature1 record
Solinca partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- Les MillscoreSolinca offers Les Mills group fitness programs including RPM, Body Pump, and other Les Mills branded classes. These are premium international fitness programs that provide standardized group exercise formats taught by certified instructors. The partnership provides access to proprietary class formats, music licensing, and marketing support.
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Solinca competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Fitness Hut: Portuguese low-cost gym chain operating ~50 clubs across Portugal; acquired by Basic-Fit in 2023. Directly competes with Solinca Classic and especially Solinca Light on price and multi-site access within the same domestic market.
- Holmes Place: Premium fitness and wellness club operator in Portugal and Spain with full-service clubs including pools, SPA, and group classes. Closely comparable to Solinca Classic in positioning, facility offering, and target customer segment.
- VivaGym: Iberian low-cost fitness chain with significant Portuguese presence. Competes directly with Solinca Light and the value end of Solinca Classic on price and accessibility.
Broad incumbents
- Basic-Fit: Europe's largest low-cost fitness operator with 1,500+ clubs across multiple countries; entered Portugal via Fitness Hut acquisition. Competes in the same domestic market with broader geographic scale and lower price points.
- McFit (RSG Group): European low-cost fitness pioneer under RSG Group (which also owns Holmes Place). Operates at much larger scale across Europe with overlapping value-segment positioning versus Solinca Light.
- Fitness First: International premium multi-club fitness operator with premium positioning similar to Solinca Classic. Not a direct competitor in Portugal today but a comparable premium-tier business model.
Regional players
- PumpFit: Smaller Portuguese gym operator focusing on accessible group fitness and personal training. Comparable niche positioning and Portuguese-only footprint but at smaller scale than Solinca.
- InShape: Portuguese independent gym chain with multi-site presence in select metros. Comparable mid-tier positioning within Portugal but without the SPA/aquatics amenities that differentiate Solinca Classic.
Others
- Wellhub (formerly Gympass): Corporate wellness aggregator giving employees multi-gym access; partners with Solinca while also distributing competing gyms to the same corporate accounts. Indirectly competitive through channel overlap.
- Sonae Capital: Parent conglomerate that owns SC Fitness (and therefore Solinca). Not a peer operator, but the corporate parent provides shared services, capital, and strategic context relevant to any potential transaction involving Solinca.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Solinca social profiles
Digital presenceSolinca financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Solinca leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Solinca subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries6 records
Solinca funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Solinca 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 Solinca
What does Solinca do?
Solinca operates a Portuguese fitness-center network offering gym memberships through Classic and Light club formats, with access to fitness equipment, group classes, pools and spa facilities where available. It also sells related services including personal training, nutrition consultations, swimming lessons, Kids activities and birthday parties.
Is Solinca a public or private company?
Solinca is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was Solinca founded?
Solinca was founded in 1995. It employs 501 to 1,000 people.
Where is Solinca based?
Solinca is headquartered in Porto, Portugal, in the Europe region.
How does Solinca make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Gym Membership Subscriptions are the primary driver. The others are ancillary Services.
Who are Solinca's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Fitness Hut, Holmes Place and VivaGym. Broad incumbents are Basic-Fit, McFit (RSG Group) and Fitness First. Regional players are PumpFit and InShape. Others are Wellhub (formerly Gympass) and Sonae Capital.
Does Solinca have an API?
No public API is recorded for Solinca.
What industry is Solinca in?
Solinca's product category is Fitness Center Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HSADAAAA, General Personal Training (In-Person & Virtual), with a secondary code of HSADAAAN, Small-Group Personal Training (Semi-Private). Its NAICS code is 713940 and its SIC code is 7997.