If you are building a fitness business with serious growth ambitions — whether that means raising a first round, making a strategic acquisition, or eventually getting acquired yourself — the financial mechanics of the HALO sector are not optional knowledge. In this episode of Escape Your Limits, Matthew Januszek is joined by Pete Moore, founder of Integrity Square, for a focused look at what investors are actually looking for in fitness and wellness businesses right now.
Pete is one of the most connected figures in fitness finance. Over 14 years, he has helped approximately 100 brands and companies navigate capital raises, acquisitions, and exits. He is also a former investment banker, author, and co-founder of IRON Planet — a B2B auction site for used equipment that sold for $758 million. His conviction that brick-and-mortar gyms are here to stay is not sentiment; it is backed by his direct experience watching capital flow into the sector across multiple market cycles.
About Pete Moore
Pete Moore is the founder of Integrity Square, a leading boutique financial advisory firm specialising in the Health, Active Lifestyle, and Outdoor (HALO) sector. Over 14 years, he has worked with approximately 100 brands and companies to raise capital, complete acquisitions, or sell their businesses — giving him one of the deepest transactional track records in fitness finance.
He is a former investment banker, an author, and the co-founder of IRON Planet, a notable B2B auction site for used equipment that was sold for $758 million. That background gives him a perspective that spans both the operational realities of the fitness industry and the financial frameworks that investors apply when evaluating it — a combination that is genuinely rare.
Pete is a firm believer that brick-and-mortar gyms are here to stay, and his work at Integrity Square reflects that conviction. For boutique studio founders, fitness entrepreneurs, and operators looking to understand the capital landscape — including what brands like Peloton have done to reshape investor expectations — he is an authoritative and practical source of guidance.
What Pete Moore and Matthew Januszek Talked About
- Brick-and-mortar gyms are not being displaced by digital fitness — they serve a fundamentally different human need for community, accountability, and physical presence that no app can fully replicate, which is why experienced capital continues to flow into the physical fitness space.
- Brands like Peloton have raised the bar for what investors expect from fitness companies in terms of data infrastructure, subscriber metrics, and the clarity of a recurring-revenue model — even operators with no digital ambitions need to understand how this has shifted the conversation.
- Choosing the right investor for your fitness startup is not just about valuation; it is about finding a partner whose timeline, risk tolerance, and understanding of the HALO sector aligns with where you are trying to go and how fast you need to get there.
- The do's and don'ts of getting acquired come down to preparation — knowing your numbers, understanding your operational dependencies, and being able to tell a coherent growth story that makes sense to a buyer who may not know your category deeply.
- Investment trends within the fitness and wellness ecosystem are moving toward brands with clear differentiation, strong retention metrics, and a demonstrable community — commoditised offerings with no proprietary hook are finding capital increasingly difficult to attract.
- After helping approximately 100 brands navigate capital events over 14 years, Pete's consistent finding is that the companies that raise successfully are the ones that approach the process as a relationship, not a transaction — investors are buying the team as much as the business model.
Why This Conversation Matters
Matthew Januszek's perspective on the fitness industry has always been shaped by a combination of operational experience and commercial rigour. Understanding how capital moves through the HALO sector — and what investors are genuinely looking for when they evaluate a fitness business — is the kind of intelligence that helps entrepreneurs make better decisions at every stage, whether they are raising a first round or thinking about what an eventual exit might look like.
Through his work with Escape Fitness USA and the LIFTS Podcast with Mohammed Iqbal of SweatWorks, Matthew is in regular dialogue with the founders and operators who are building the next generation of fitness businesses. Pete Moore's expertise on investment trends, acquisition dynamics, and the financial frameworks that shape fitness entrepreneurship makes this conversation essential listening for anyone serious about building something durable in this industry.
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About Matthew Januszek
Matthew Januszek is the co-founder of Escape Fitness, the functional-training equipment brand he built from a UK startup into a global name supplying many of the world’s leading gyms, studios, and hotel fitness spaces. Following the separation of the UK and US businesses, Matthew’s focus today is Escape Fitness USA and the next chapter of the brand in North America. He hosted more than 300 episodes of the Escape Your Limits podcast and now co-hosts the LIFTS Podcast with SweatWorks founder Mohammed Iqbal, covering the business, science, and technology shaping the fitness industry. Explore more interviews and episodes on MatthewJanuszek.com.
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