S’pore swim school Fitness Champs to launch $19.3m IPO on Nasdaq, plans Dubai expansion

SINGAPORE - 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.

The decision to take the company public was conceived as early as 2023, and she cited the lack of trading activity on SGX as a primary reason for looking at another bourse.

Hong Kong was initially considered as well, but ultimately, the company opted to go for a US listing.

Fitness Champs was originally set to launch on Nasdaq in April, but that was the month in which US President Donald Trump announced his first round of tariffs.

The global economic uncertainty forced Ms Lee to delay her IPO plans and withdraw the application in May.

“Now that the economic situation has stabilised and the noise around tariffs has quietened down, I think it is the right time to go in,” she said.

United States broker-dealer Bancroft Capital is acting as the lead underwriter and book runner for the IPO.

The company intends to use 35 per cent of the net proceeds – around US$5.3 million – to hire and train additional coaches.

Ms Lee said the company will expand its business in Dubai, where they will target the international schools and the expat community.

The Middle East city’s consistent weather throughout the year allows lessons to be conducted without much disruption, unlike other Asian countries such as South Korea, which is known for its harsh winters, she added.

Neighbouring countries in Asean were also deemed not the right fit in terms of customer profile.

The company will begin laying the groundwork for its Dubai operations in October, and aims to open officially in the beginning of 2026.

On the home front, Ms Lee said she plans to venture into other aquatic sports like water polo and flippa ball, as well as pickleball – which she hopes she can partner with MOE for primary school co-curricular activity training.

About 10 per cent of the net proceeds from the IPO will be used for this venture.

Shares of Fitness Champs are expected to begin trading in the US on Sept 4 at 11.10pm Singapore time.

There has been increased interest from Singapore companies in US listings in 2025, with 12 on Nasdaq and two on the New York Stock Exchange.

Most recently, oil trading company Delixy Holdings completed its IPO on Nasdaq in July, raising US$8 million through the sale of two million ordinary shares.

But it has not been all rosy post-IPO. As at Sept 4, 11 companies that listed in 2025 have already seen their share prices fall below their IPO prices.

The worst of the lot is IOThree, a maritime digital technologies company, which plummeted more than 90 per cent from its IPO price of US$4 to just 39 US cents within three weeks of listing in April.

The company closed at 43 US cents on Sept 3.

Ms Lee, who holds a degree in economics and statistics, said that while she is concerned about the IPO potentially underperforming, she is taking things in her stride.

“If the share price falls due to market forces, that is out of our control. Ultimately, what is most important is for us to look after the business. If the business is doing well, the share price will still go up eventually.”

Mr Chan Yew Kiang, Asean IPO leader at EY, said Singapore companies tend to list in the US over other markets when looking at cross-border opportunities because of the perceived higher valuation and liquidity there.

Many of the Singapore companies that have listed in the US in 2025 are regarded as being in the tech sector.

Mr Chan said: “Investors in the US are more familiar with the risks associated with companies in these sectors, which drives valuation. However, most of these high-growth and tech-focused start-ups are not yet profitable, which may limit their post-listing performance.”

He added that Singapore companies that had listed in the US are small and may not be able to attract sufficient investor interest due to a lack of familiarity with their businesses.

“Companies should consider investor relations or public relations activities and events, to allow investors to have a better understanding of their value proposition to attract interest.”