S'pore Swim School Seeks $19.3m IPO on Nasdaq, Plans Dubai Expansion

Fitness Champs Aims to Open Officially in the Middle East City at Start of Next Year

- Benjamin Lim

Swim school Fitness Champs is seeking to raise US$15 million (S$19.3 million) in its initial public offering (IPO) on Nasdaq, the company said on Sept 4.

The offering will comprise 3.75 million shares priced at US$4 each—two million shares offered by the company and 1.75 million shares offered by its shareholders.

If successful, it will be the 15th Singapore company to list in the US in 2025.

Fitness Champs is one of the biggest swim schools in Singapore with around 240 coaches. It is also the largest service provider of the SwimSafer programme, a national water safety programme managed by SportSG.

The majority of its lessons are conducted in conjunction with Ministry of Education (MOE) schools, coaching between 18,000 and 20,000 students a year.

It also offers private swimming lessons for children and adults, as well as competitive coaching.

According to its prospectus filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, the company had recorded $4.2 million in revenue in 2024, up 52.5 per cent from 2022.

Profit also grew from $1.2 million to $1.5 million in the same period.

This was lower than its earnings in 2023. The company's chief executive Joyce Lee said this was due to a higher number of students that year who were unable to receive their certifications because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Ms Lee, a swim coach who founded Fitness Champs in 2012, said she chose to list on Nasdaq instead of the Singapore Exchange (SGX) as it offered a better platform for the company to go global.