Mercapital has become the latest private equity firm to invest in the leisure industry by taking a 32% stake in MSC Wellness, a Spanish sports centre group with ambitious growth plans, in return for providing the equity in a €150m ($147m) financing package.

Miguel Zurita, a partner in Mercapital, which is Spain's largest private equity firm, said the industry was particularly attractive to private equity firms. He said: "Leisure is a growing but traditional market. It has been growing in the US for 20 years and membership of leisure centres in the UK has been growing by 20% a year for the last five years. There is a modern life trend towards wellbeing."