Deal: Macpherson Kelley has assisted US fitness centre Planet Fitness Inc. to set up a presence in Australia. Hall & Wilcox assisted Bravo Fit Holdings to secure the area development agreement, which will facilitate the expansion. 

Value: Undisclosed.

Area: Joint venture.

Key players: The Macpherson Kelley team was led by special counsel Mark Metzeling, with assistance from principal lawyer Mark Dillman, special counsel Danh Nguyen and lawyer Mitchell Willocks.

The Hall & Wilcox team was led by partner Matthew Smith with assistance from partner Deborah Chew, special counsel Kristopher Kunasingam, senior associates James Bull and Clare Kerley, lawyer Michael Tran and national intellectual property manager Raelene Brown. 

Deal significance: Macpherson Kelley advised the company on intellectual property matters, corporate structuring and Australian tax laws as it established a joint venture with fitness operator Dallas Rosekelly’s Galactic Fitness Pty.

Hall & Wilcox advised on the establishment of the Bravo joint venture. The firm also assisted Bravo to achieve all operational and capitalisation-related key performance indicators required to bring the Planet Fitness franchise to Australia. 

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The first Planet Fitness locations are at Tuggerah and Gosford on the Central Coast of NSW.

“It’s a pleasure to be able to help bring a new and successful brand to Australia and lay the groundwork for their expansion,” Mr Metzeling said.

Mr Smith said: "It has been an interesting and rewarding journey assisting Bravo to bring the Planet Fitness brand to Australia. A cross-practice deal team from our corporate and commercial, IP, employment, property and migration practices worked together to establish this international joint venture, and to undertake the various streams of work needed to demonstrate the joint venture's capability and capacity within the Australian fitness market." 

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