PRIVATE EQUITY OWNED
Massage Envy
Includes MassageEnvy
spa & wellness · Scottsdale, AZ
- PE Firm
- Roark Capital →
- Year Acquired
- 2012
More than 180 people reported sexual assaults at Massage Envy. The company didn't require its spas to call the police.
What They Did
- Roark Capital acquired Massage Envy in 2012. As franchisor, Massage Envy LLC was named in civil lawsuits alleging it set the policies governing how franchises investigated and reported sexual assault complaints
- Massage Envy didn't require spas to report sexual assault allegations to police in states without mandatory reporting laws — complaints could be handled internally
- After public pressure from a BuzzFeed News investigation, Massage Envy announced policy changes in December 2017, including annual background checks and a RAINN partnership — but still declined to require franchises to report allegations to law enforcement
Since the Acquisition
- A BuzzFeed News investigation (November 2017) found more than 180 people had filed sexual assault lawsuits, police reports, and state board complaints against Massage Envy spas nationwide
- According to a court motion cited by BuzzFeed News, franchisees were told in at least one risk-management training that the goal when investigating claims was to 'avoid police and keep membership.'
- In one case reported by BuzzFeed News, an accused massage therapist remained on staff seeing clients after at least three separate women had reported him
- A BuzzFeed News investigation found Massage Envy kept charging membership fees to at least one assault victim for two months after she reported the incident and said she would never return
Sources
- More Than 180 Women Have Reported Sexual Assaults At Massage Envy — BuzzFeed News(2017-11-26)
- Massage Envy Announces Major Changes In Sexual Assault Policy — BuzzFeed News(2017-12-05)
- Massage Envy therapists accused of sexual assault — CBS News(2017-11-27)
- Massage Envy Spas Accused Of Nearly 200 Sexual Assaults — Newsweek(2017-11-26)
- Roark Capital Acquires Massage Envy (2012) — PR Newswire(2012-09-30)