Manchester-based technology company Vivify has acquired London-based imin as part of plans to make it easier for people to find and book sports and physical activities.
Founded in 2020, Vivify works with more than 6,000 facilities across the UK, helping schools open up their sports halls, pitches and other spaces to local communities outside school hours.
The acquisition of imin, which specialises in physical activity technology, will allow Vivify to expand its services to schools, leisure operators, local authorities and community groups.
Founded in 2014, imin co-created OpenActive, the Sport England-backed open data standard for physical activity.
Its technology makes it easier for people to find and book activities by sharing information about available sessions and facilities across different websites and apps.
These include Decathlon, LTA Play and ParalympicsGB’s Every Body Moves finder.
The terms of the acquisition have not been disclosed but bring together Vivify’s expertise in managing school facilities with imin’s technology for discovering, booking and promoting physical activities.
The combined business will offer five key solutions: timetable and instant checkout; smart timetable; marketplace; smart insights; and school facility management.
The aim is to help organisations attract more users, make better use of their facilities and increase participation in sport and physical activity.
Russell Teale, founder and CEO of Vivify, said: “Vivify was founded on a simple belief, that the spaces and opportunities to help people become more active already exist in our communities, but too often they are difficult to find, access or use.
“We’ve spent the last six years helping schools open their facilities to their communities. Through the acquisition of imin, we’re taking that mission significantly further.
“We’re bringing together the physical infrastructure, technology and intelligence needed to connect more people with more opportunities to be active.
“This isn’t simply about adding new products. It’s about creating a more connected approach to community activity, where schools, leisure centres and activity providers can all benefit from better visibility, greater utilisation and increased participation.
“Ultimately, our ambition is to make finding and accessing physical activity as simple as possible, wherever you live.”
Teale was included in BusinessCloud’s 2026 Northern Leaders and Founder 250 lists.
Create connected marketplace
The acquisition will also support Vivify’s ambition to create a connected marketplace for physical activity.
Currently, thousands of sports and physical activities are available through schools, leisure centres and community organisations, but they are often spread across different booking systems and websites.
By combining their technology, Vivify and imin aim to make these opportunities easier to find and book.
For schools, the expanded offering will provide new ways to promote facilities, manage community bookings and generate additional income.
Leisure operators and local authorities will be able to reach wider audiences, better understand customer demand and identify opportunities to increase participation.
The technology is designed to work alongside existing booking systems rather than replace them.
As part of the acquisition, imin’s team will join Vivify, while its existing platform will continue to serve customers and partners.
imin co-founder Nick Evans has also been appointed chief product technology officer at Vivify.
He will lead the company’s product and technology strategy, including the development of its booking, marketplace and data intelligence solutions.
Evans said: “imin started more than a decade ago with a mission to help more people choose health and community through physical activity. We built that vision with leisure, national governing bodies and grassroots organisations, opening up the data about physical activity opportunities for anyone to find and book.
“Vivify built the same thing from the schools side, opening thousands of sports halls, pitches and studios to the communities around them. Put those two sets of expertise together and you have something very powerful.
“For a resident, that means one place to find everything from a leisure-centre class to a school sports hall on a Saturday morning. For our partners and local authorities, it means our work is now backed by a larger team, with far more behind us, and even more opportunities for innovation.”
The deal marks the next stage of Vivify’s growth as it expands beyond school facilities management into a wider technology platform for community activities.
Teale added: “We want Vivify to become the technology and services partner that helps any organisation get more people active.
“Whether you’re a school opening your sports hall, a leisure operator promoting activities or a local authority trying to increase participation, we want to make that easier.
“Our vision is clear: more people being active in their local communities.”
Vivify is backed by Arête and William Currie Group.