Prince Daniel of Sweden has sold his gym chain “Balance” to his competitor, Sats after years of declining profit. Last year, Sats reached record sales, according to Di.se. Sats has now, with the acquisition of Balance, 75 locations throughout Sweden and over 200,000 members.
Balance has three locations in Stockholm and was founded by then Daniel Westling in 2006 with a new concept. According to the Royal Court, Balance had around 100 employees and 5,000 members. Prince Daniel kept ownership after marrying Crown Princess Victoria in 2010, but he was stopped being active within the company upon his marriage.
At least two of the locations will continue using the Balance name.
The amount that His Royal Highness and his fellow shareholders (Johan Skarborg, Jeremias Andersson and CEO Anders Svensson) received in the sale has not been revealed.
Daniel had previously worked in the fitness industry before founding Balance. He worked as a consultant in the fitness industry after establishing his own company in 1997. He would later run Master Training AB, another fitness gym he founded in 2004 and served as CEO, alongside a colleague. The Royal Court has explained that it has two gymnasiums in central Stockholm after an expansion.
It was at Master Training that Daniel met Crown Princess Victoria when he served as her personal trainer. And the rest, as they say, is history.
On 24 February 2009, it was announced that Victoria was to marry Daniel the next year after the government gave their permission. The two married on the 34th anniversary of the wedding between Victoria’s parents on 19 June 2010. The ceremony took place at Stockholm Cathedral, and Daniel Westling became Prince Daniel and husband to the future Queen of Sweden. They now have two children together Princess Estelle (b. February 2012) and Prince Oscar (b. March 2016).
