# Therme Group — Full Picture

_Compiled by Claude from public sources — company materials, press coverage, regulatory filings, and industry reports — on 2026-06-15. Covers corporate development, projects in active development, ownership, leadership, and competitive context._

[[#Access Gaps]] | [[#What Therme Says About Itself]] | [[#Portfolio and Operating Footprint]] | [[#Projects in Development]] | [[#Ownership and Capital Structure]] | [[#Leadership]] | [[#Competitive Landscape]] | [[#Cultural Programming]] | [[#Open Questions]] | [[#Worth Reading Directly]] | [[#Sources]]

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## Access Gaps

Three relevant sources could not be retrieved directly and may add useful context if read separately:
- **D Magazine, "The Curious (and Cursed?) Location of the New Therme Resort in Dallas"** (March 2025) returned HTTP 403.
- **The Architect's Newspaper, "The Culture of Bathe-ing lands in Domino Park"** (Feb 2026) returned HTTP 403.
- **Fitt Insider podcast #285 with Robert Hammond** could not be transcribed.

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## What Therme Says About Itself

Therme Group describes itself as an Austrian wellbeing company founded in 2007, headquartered in Vienna, and majority-owned by A-HEAT Allied Heat Exchange (a Vienna-based engineering conglomerate). Its self-description is "the world's largest wellbeing infrastructure platform." As of late 2025, the company says its portfolio comprises **five operating locations serving 5.3 million annual visitors**, with flagship destinations Therme Bucharest (~1M annually) and Therme Erding (~1.85M visitors in 2019). The company says it has **10 projects in development across North America, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia, projected to serve 20+ million guests annually within a decade**.

The product is consistent: large indoor wellness destinations (~500,000–750,000 sq ft) combining family-oriented water-park areas, adults-only thermal pools, and premium sauna/spa zones, housed under transparent enclosures with tropical planting. Therme Bucharest is described as the world's first LEED Platinum–certified wellbeing infrastructure.

The category positioning is framed in cultural terms. Robert Hammond, who runs the US arm, has said publicly that "bathing is at the start of a cultural wave, think yoga in the '90s or coffee in the '80s." The framing is public-good-oriented: wellness as infrastructure, accessibility through community pricing, social isolation as a problem the format addresses.

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## Portfolio and Operating Footprint

Therme's operating portfolio has grown substantially in 2024–2026 through a series of acquisitions consolidating the Wund-origin destinations into the Therme platform.

### Operating Destinations

- **Therme Bucharest** — Opened 2016. ~1M annual visitors (8,000+ per day). World's first LEED Platinum–certified wellbeing infrastructure.
- **Therme Erding (Germany)** — Acquired by Therme Group in 2024 for €320M. ~1.85M visitors in 2019; described as the world's largest wellbeing destination.
- **Therme Euskirchen, Therme Sinsheim, Therme Titisee-Neustadt (Germany)** — Acquired through Therme Horizon (the Therme/CVC Capital Partners joint venture) in March 2026, integrating the full Wund-origin portfolio. The transaction is subject to German Federal Cartel Office approval.

Combined, the platform reports **5.3 million annual visitors** across the five destinations. Therme Bucharest and Therme Erding alone account for ~3.5M of those visitors.

### Corporate Development History

Founder Robert Hanea partnered with Josef Wund over a 20+ year period and sat on the WUND Group executive board. Therme Group was founded in 2007 as a separate Vienna-based entity. After Josef Wund died in 2017, Therme Group eventually moved to consolidate the Wund-origin destinations under its own ownership — first acquiring Erding in 2024 and then completing the integration via the Therme Horizon joint venture with CVC Capital Partners in 2026. The strategic shift is from licensing/affiliation to direct ownership and operation of the Wund portfolio.

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## Projects in Development

Therme has multiple wellness destinations in active development across the US, UK, and Canada. Each represents a public-private partnership at significant scale.

### Therme Canada — Ontario Place (Toronto)

- **95-year lease** with the Province of Ontario.
- **65,000 sq m, seven-storey indoor wellness facility and water park** on the West Island of Ontario Place.
- Will be co-located with a new Ontario Science Centre at Ontario Place (scheduled to open 2029).
- Original cost estimates (2019) were CA$335–424M; 2024 estimates (inclusive of the new Science Centre) reached CA$2.2B.
- Construction is moving forward.

### Therme Manchester (UK)

- Originally announced as a **£250M** wellness resort and water park; budget has grown to **£450M**.
- Originally scheduled to open in 2025; opening currently scheduled for **end of 2028**.
- Construction resumed after years of legal, planning, and administrative delays. **Sculptor Capital Management invested $250M in 2025** to restart construction.
- Will be the UK's largest paid-attraction wellness facility (10 pools, 15 waterslides). ~2,500 construction jobs, 650 operating jobs.

### Therme Dallas — Cedars Neighborhood

- 24 acres along South Riverfront Boulevard, adjacent to Dallas Water Commons wetlands.
- ~500,000 sq ft, projected **2M annual visitors**, 1,300 permanent jobs.
- **$800M project.**
- **Targeting LEED Platinum** certification.
- Active community engagement underway with the Cedars Neighborhood Authority and Dallas city leaders.

### Therme DC — Poplar Point (Ward 8, Anacostia)

- Announced March 2025; Mayor Bowser selected Therme for the Poplar Point parcel.
- **$500M project.**
- Located in Ward 8 east of the Anacostia River.
- More than 1,500 Washingtonians indicated public support during the comment period.
- Site preparation includes raising land height above sea level and conducting environmental remediation.

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## Ownership and Capital Structure

- **Parent**: A-HEAT Allied Heat Exchange (Vienna) — engineering, heating and cooling systems.
- **Total raised**: $591M+ across vehicles, per public profiles.
- **Key investors and partners**:
  - **Sculptor Capital Management** — $250M for the Manchester restart (2025).
  - **Macquarie Capital** — earlier investor.
  - **The Georgetown Company** — acquired a **25% equity stake** in Therme's US business, structured around developing 10 American projects.
  - **CVC Capital Partners** — Therme Horizon joint venture (€1B+ valuation), vehicle for the Wund portfolio acquisition.

Substantial institutional investment is concentrated in development-stage projects (Manchester, US expansion) and in the acquisition of operating assets (Wund portfolio via Therme Horizon). The funding model relies on long-term lease and concession agreements as the basis for attracting institutional capital.

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## Leadership

### Robert C. Hanea — Founder, Chairman, CEO of Therme Group (global)

Vienna-based. Doctorate in law from Comenius University, Bratislava. Began career in law; later worked on major construction projects (hospitals, Hanover Fairground, Innsbruck Football Stadium) and joined the executive board of the WUND Group. Founded Therme Group in 2007. Continues to lead the global group from Vienna.

### Robert Hammond — President & Chief Strategy Officer, Therme Group US

Co-founder of the High Line and former executive director of Friends of the High Line for 20+ years. Founder of the High Line Network (connecting public-space leaders in North America). Co-producer of *Citizen Jane: Battle for the City* (Jane Jacobs documentary). Rome Prize winner; husband Daniel Barasch co-founded the Lowline. Built one of the first large-scale internet health platforms early in his career. Frames Therme as a continuation of his public-space-as-social-infrastructure work — "urban wellness from the High Line to stadium-sized urban spas" is the through-line in his interviews. He is the public face of Therme's US strategy and the cultural-credibility anchor for the brand. Culture of Bathe-ing programming is his initiative.

### Adam Bamba Tanaka — COO, Therme Group US

Princeton + Harvard urban planning background; HR&A Advisors alumnus; published academic on urban policy. Ex-NYC Department of City Planning and Housing Development Corporation. The technical/operational anchor in the US team.

### John Alschuler — Executive Chairman, Therme Group US

Founder of HR&A Advisors (real estate and economic development advisory). Adam Tanaka previously worked at HR&A. The Alschuler–Tanaka pipeline is the institutional connection between Therme US and the New York urban-development advisory world.

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## Competitive Landscape

The wellness destination / thermal bathing category is large but fragmented. Therme is operating in a market valued at ~$836B (2024) and projected to reach ~$2.9T by 2034 (CAGR ~13%) per wellness tourism market reports — but the **large-format public-wellness-infrastructure niche Therme targets is narrow**, with few direct competitors at scale.

### Direct or Near-Direct Competitors

- **Blue Lagoon Iceland** — geothermal destination, single-flagship model. Smaller scale, strong natural-asset story.
- **Six Senses** — luxury wellness hospitality, more boutique resort positioning. Recently expanded into thermal/onsen offerings.
- **Red Sea Global (Saudi Arabia)** — large-scale wellness destination development, sovereign-backed. CB Insights groups it as a Therme competitor.

### NYC-Specific Adjacent Players (named in Culture of Bathe-ing programming)

- **Bathhouse** (Brooklyn / Flatiron) — premium contemporary bathhouse.
- **Othership** (NYC + Toronto) — communal sauna/cold plunge programming, performance-oriented.
- **Russian & Turkish Baths** (East Village) — legacy NYC bathhouse.

### Hospitality-Adjacent

- Steiner Leisure, Ritz-Carlton spa, traditional spa-resort operators — these compete on services and pricing but not on the public-infrastructure-scale model.

The differentiation Therme claims — scale, urban location, public-private development model, "social infrastructure" framing — is real on dimensions of scale and urban-public-space positioning. The large-format public-wellness-infrastructure niche has limited direct precedent outside Germany/Austria, where the Wund-origin destinations established the format.

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## Cultural Programming

Culture of Bathe-ing is Therme's cultural-affairs arm. The February–March 2026 Domino Park sauna festival in Williamsburg was Therme US's largest public moment to date:

- 17 architecturally distinct saunas across the site.
- 1,000+ guided sessions across three weeks.
- Co-programmed with Pioneer Works (cultural talks, meditations, sound baths).
- Aufguss World Champions and practitioners from Bathhouse, Othership, and Russian & Turkish Baths participated.

Press reception was broadly favorable across Brooklyn Paper, Greenpointers, Architect's Newspaper, and the Pioneer Works channel. The Culture of Bathe-ing Substack is edited by Jane Withers (UK-based curator) and is a cultural-positioning vehicle — not a marketing channel for the buildings.

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## Open Questions

These are questions about model, market, and scale — not predictions, just things that the public record doesn't yet resolve.

- How does the large-format public-wellness-infrastructure model perform in US urban contexts? Therme's success metrics from Bucharest and Erding are well documented; what transfers across geography and culture is unknown.
- How does the "accessible wellbeing" positioning interact with the institutional-capital ownership structure (Georgetown 25%, CVC JV, Sculptor) over time? Pricing and programming implications aren't yet visible.
- What does post-acquisition operating integration look like for the Wund-origin destinations? Staff, programming, and operating-practice continuity vs. change isn't publicly documented.
- Is Hammond's category-creation thesis (bathing as a coming cultural wave) borne out in US adoption patterns?
- What is the realistic build-out timeline for the 10-project pipeline? Manchester's experience (£250M → £450M, 2025 → 2028) suggests timelines and budgets evolve materially during execution.

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## Worth Reading Directly

**1. Robert Hammond — "Incredible Wellness Destinations" interview**, Authority Magazine (Medium). Long-form Hammond interview on the brand promise and his approach to creating destinations.
[Link](https://medium.com/authority-magazine/incredible-wellness-destinations-robert-hammond-of-therme-us-on-the-secrets-to-creating-the-54de3e921add)

**2. Robert Hammond — Global Wellness Summit podcast: "Urban Wellness from New York's High Line to Stadium-Sized Urban Spas."** Hammond's framing of Therme as continuous with his public-space career.
[Link](https://www.globalwellnesssummit.com/summit-podcast-series/robert-hammond-urban-wellness-from-new-yorks-highline-to-stadium-sized-urban-spas/)

**3. Fitt Insider Podcast #285 — Robert Hammond.** Could not transcribe in this pass; flagged as the most likely long-form source for Hammond's articulation of the strategy.
[Link](https://insider.fitt.co/285-robert-hammond-president-chief-strategy-officer-therme-group-us/)

**4. Biophilic Solutions Podcast — "The High Line, Therme, & Social Infrastructure with Robert Hammond."** Treats Therme through the social-infrastructure lens.
[Link](https://www.biophilicsolutions.com/the-high-line-therme-social-infrastructure-with-robert-hammond/)

**5. Future Market Insights — Thermal Spa & Wellness Market Report.** Industry market sizing, segmentation, regional dynamics.
[Link](https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/thermal-spa-and-wellness-market)

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## Sources

### Hammond Interviews / Strategic Framing
- [Authority Magazine: Incredible Wellness Destinations — Robert Hammond](https://medium.com/authority-magazine/incredible-wellness-destinations-robert-hammond-of-therme-us-on-the-secrets-to-creating-the-54de3e921add)
- [Fitt Insider Podcast #285 — Robert Hammond](https://insider.fitt.co/285-robert-hammond-president-chief-strategy-officer-therme-group-us/)
- [Global Wellness Summit: Robert Hammond — Urban Wellness from the High Line to Stadium-Sized Urban Spas](https://www.globalwellnesssummit.com/summit-podcast-series/robert-hammond-urban-wellness-from-new-yorks-highline-to-stadium-sized-urban-spas/)
- [Biophilic Solutions Podcast: The High Line, Therme, & Social Infrastructure with Robert Hammond](https://www.biophilicsolutions.com/the-high-line-therme-social-infrastructure-with-robert-hammond/)

### Press — Projects
- [Washington Post: D.C. approves Therme spa at Poplar Point (March 2025)](https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2025/03/21/therme-group-poplar-point-wellness-resort/)
- [Washington Informer: Poplar Point's Transformation with Therme's Health Hub](https://www.washingtoninformer.com/therme-dc-ward-8-wellness/)
- [Hill Rag: A Draft Plan to Develop Poplar Point](https://www.hillrag.com/2025/06/04/a-draft-plan-to-develop-poplar-point/)
- [East of the River: Ward 8 Needs Therme DC on Poplar Point](https://eastoftheriverdcnews.com/2026/01/16/ward-8-needs-therme-dc-on-poplar-point/)
- [Dallas Express: Wellness Oasis On The Horizon](https://dallasexpress.com/city/waterslides-meet-wellness-at-proposed-dallas-resort/)
- [Blooloop: Therme Manchester building work starts](https://blooloop.com/water-parks/news/therme-manchester-building-work-starts/)
- [Blooloop: Therme Manchester opening delayed as design enhanced](https://blooloop.com/water-parks/news/therme-manchester-opening-delay-design-enhanced/)
- [Time Out UK: £500 million resort, biggest paid attraction](https://www.timeout.com/uk/news/the-new-500-million-resort-that-will-be-the-biggest-paid-for-attraction-in-the-uk-040926)
- [Wikipedia: Therme Manchester](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Therme_Manchester)

### Cultural Programming
- [PR Newswire: Culture of Bathe-ing brings America's largest sauna festival to the Williamsburg waterfront](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/culture-of-bathe-ing-brings-americas-largest-sauna-festival-to-the-williamsburg-waterfront-302674218.html)
- [Pioneer Works: Culture of Bathe-ing](https://pioneerworks.org/programs/culture-of-bathe-ing)
- [Greenpointers: New York's Biggest Sauna Festival Heats Up Domino Park](https://greenpointers.com/2026/02/24/new-yorks-biggest-sauna-festival-culture-of-bathe-ing-heats-up-domino-park/)
- [Culture of Bathing Substack](https://cultureofbathing.substack.com/)

### Company / Self-Description
- [Therme Group corporate site](https://www.thermegroup.com/)
- [Therme US site](https://www.therme.us/)
- [PR Newswire: Therme acquires Therme Erding and secures €320M financing (2024)](https://www.prnewswire.com/in/news-releases/therme-group-acquires-therme-erding-and-secures-320-million-financing-to-create-the-worlds-largest-wellbeing-infrastructure-platform-302329153.html)
- [PR Newswire: Therme Horizon acquires Wund portfolio (March 2026)](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/therme-group-acquires-full-thermengruppe-josef-wund-portfolio-through-therme-horizon-integrating-all-four-wund-origin-destinations-into-its-global-platform-302634838.html)
- [PR Newswire: Therme announces Dallas as first US location](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/therme-group-announces-dallas-as-first-location-for-its-new-us-concept-302412329.html)
- [Wikipedia: Therme Group](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Therme_Group)
- [Wikipedia: Therme Erding](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Therme_Erding)
- [Global Wellness Summit: Robert Hanea bio](https://www.globalwellnesssummit.com/2025-global-wellness-summit-speakers/attachment/robert-hanea/)

### Funding / Financial Data
- [PitchBook: Therme Group profile](https://pitchbook.com/profiles/company/268010-92)
- [Crunchbase: Therme Group](https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/therme-group)
- [CB Insights: Therme Group financials](https://www.cbinsights.com/company/therme-group/financials)

### Industry / Competitive Landscape
- [Future Market Insights: Thermal Spa and Wellness Market](https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/thermal-spa-and-wellness-market)
- [GM Insights: Thermal Spa & Wellness Market Size](https://www.gminsights.com/industry-analysis/thermal-spa-and-wellness-market)
- [Global Growth Insights: Top Wellness Tourism Companies 2025](https://www.globalgrowthinsights.com/blog/wellness-tourism-companies-907)
- [CB Insights: Red Sea Global vs Therme Group](https://www.cbinsights.com/compare/red-sea-global-vs-therme-group)
