Cult.fit gears up for IPO after turning Ebitda-positive, eyes expansion

The Bengaluru-based fitness chain has turned Ebitda-positive after recovering from the pandemic and is preparing for a stock-market listing as it expands across India

Cult.fit, the Bengaluru fitness chain that opened in 2015 with a no-machine workout concept, is preparing for a stock market debut next month, according to sources.

 

The company, which has grown to 712 centres and ₹1,700 crore in revenue, has hired Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley to work towards an initial public offering (IPO), people familiar with the matter said. A draft prospectus for a ₹3,500-4,000 crore issue is expected in early July.

 

Cult.fit Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Naresh Krishnaswamy, who took over the role in 2023, said the listing remains a milestone rather than a near-term target. “I do not have any timeline to share,” he told Business Standard.

 

The original Cult was founded in Bengaluru in 2015 by Rishabh Telang, offering a machine-free fitness approach built around martial arts, yoga, and outdoor activities. Serial entrepreneur and Myntra cofounder Mukesh Bansal acquired a controlling stake in 2016 and built a broader platform around it.

 

Krishnaswamy, who previously helped scale Myntra’s revenue, joined Cult.fit in 2018 and became CEO in 2023. Cult.fit operates 712 centres across company-owned and franchise-operated formats. It also owns the Indian operations of Gold’s Gym and Fitness First. The company’s products arm, Cult Store, sells athleisure wear, footwear, and fitness equipment through its own website, exclusive outlets, multi-brand retail, and ecommerce platforms.

 

Cult.fit has raised $714 million to date from investors, including Temasek, Accel, and Fireside Ventures, according to Tracxn. Temasek raised its stake to 12 per cent this year with a ₹440 crore investment.

 

From pandemic burnout to bounce-back

 

The pandemic hit hard: revenue fell to ₹161.4 crore in 2020-21 amid a ₹671 crore loss. Krishnaswamy said the recovery since then has been the result of four years of steady execution rather than a single strategic shift. Cult.fit entered the pandemic with adequate capital, a strong brand, and loyal customers, which, he said, helped it weather the disruption.

 

He credited the recovery to franchise-driven expansion, deeper penetration in India’s top cities, and growth in the company’s products business, which was launched around 2019-20 and has since expanded from a single category into apparel, footwear, and fitness equipment. The unit also improved gym economics by growing revenue while keeping costs largely flat.

 

In 2024-25 (FY25), revenue grew 31 per cent to ₹1,216 crore, while earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (Ebitda) losses narrowed from ₹209 crore to ₹36 crore. Services generated ₹844 crore of FY25 revenue; Cult Store contributed ₹372 crore.

 

The company turned Ebitda-positive in the final quarter of 2025-26 (FY26), according to people familiar with the matter, marking a double-digit improvement in Ebitda. Revenue surpassed ₹1,700 crore, up about 40 per cent from a year ago.

 

Krishnaswamy declined to comment on FY26 results before they are finalised but confirmed the company had reached Ebitda profitability, adding that he expects profitability to improve further in the coming years.

 

Stretching the footprint

 

Cult.fit is present in more than 75 cities and aims to become a 100-city business within five to six years. “We feel Indian markets are ripe and there’s plenty of white space for Cult.fit,” Krishnaswamy said.

 

India’s fitness market is projected to more than double from ₹16,200 crore ($1.9 billion) in 2024 to ₹37,700 crore ($4.5 billion) by 2030, growing at a 15 per cent compound annual rate, driven by rising health awareness, higher disposable incomes, and increasing digital adoption, according to Deloitte India and the Health & Fitness Association.

 

He pointed to the lower-priced Cult Neo format — annual memberships priced at ₹10,000-12,000 — as a key driver of expansion into India’s largest fitness market, alongside a push into Tier-II and Tier-III cities beyond the top metros. On the product side, he said Cult.fit plans to add new categories and accelerate openings of exclusive brand outlets beyond its current base of 29.

 

“In another five to six years, we expect to be closer to between 1,500 and 2,000 centres,” Krishnaswamy said. “That would mean opening in multiple new cities every year.”

 

Training with technology

 

Krishnaswamy said the growing adoption of glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) weight-loss drugs is likely to complement, rather than disrupt, Cult.fit’s business, arguing that users are typically advised to build muscle through strength training after losing weight.

 

On artificial intelligence (AI), he said the technology is reshaping both customer-facing products and backend operations, including customer support, gym operations analysis through camera feeds, workforce management, and product development. He said AI has already improved engineering productivity and allowed the company to handle more customer queries without adding staff.

 

“Over the next two to three years, there is no doubt that these will lead to material benefits for the company’s prospects,” he said. More than 60 per cent of employees use AI tools such as Claude by Anthropic and Codex by OpenAI, which the company provides.

 

The endurance test ahead

 

Krishnaswamy said execution, rather than competition, will determine Cult.fit’s next phase of growth as it expands beyond India’s largest metros. “I don’t see competition as a threat,” he said.

 

He pointed to interest in fitness rising on the back of events such as Hyrox and growing social media awareness but said the bigger constraint is inadequate fitness infrastructure relative to India’s population. “The infrastructure revolution needs to happen, which is what we are driving,” he said.