New budget fitness brand Pure Gym is expanding its network and has hired an operations director, confirming that the fitness franchise sector continues to grow in tough trading conditions.
The Pure Gym group, which launched in 2009 with a portfolio of 15 clubs, has secured £9m from a combination of shareholder and Barclays Bank investment to nearly double the number of UK gyms it has to 28.
Its gyms provide low-cost exercise facilities, including 220 pieces of workout equipment, and 40 different classes and, in contrast to their competitors, are all open 24 hours a day.
The chain opened a new site in London Oval on 27 October, with Cardiff, Coventry, and Walton-on-Thames centres to be opened by the end of 2011.
Pure Gym aims to have 100,000 members by 2012 and CEO Peter Roberts says: "We aim to grow to 28 gyms by the end of our financial year and 45 by the end of 2012.”
Former Virgin Active UK operations manager Jacques de Bruin has also been announced as the group’s new operations director.
Despite conventional wisdom suggesting that consumers would cut down on exercise spending when their incomes are squeezed, the sector as a whole is booming. After a major refurbishment Fitness First is producing strong financial results and Virgin Active nearly doubled the size of its portfolio with its recent purchase of all 55 Esporta gyms.
Even virtual gyms are proving popular in the pursuit to improve fitness. Indiana scientists found that attending a fitness centre in Second Life – the online game which allows individuals to explore and interact in a virtual world – helps shift real-life pounds.
The expansion of the Pure Gym brand shows signs of an upwards trend in demand for cheaper and more flexible gym members
Two groups of individuals classed as overweight – one real, one logging in online – took part in a 12-week weight-loss programme. They attended meetings for four hours a week either in Second Life or the real world. Both groups lost around 10 pounds.
Yet those using Second Life seemed to make more changes towards healthy eating and exercise outside of the online world. Dr Jeanne Johnston, who led the study, says:
"It has the potential to reach people who normally wouldn't go to a gym or join a programme because of limitations, such as time or discomfort with a fitness centre environment."
Virgin Active can console itself on the loss of its operations director with its recent round of excellent publicity. Both X Factor judge Gary Barlow and ex-Friends actor Matt Le Blanc have extolled the virtues of Richard Branson’s gyms.
Read about what to look for in a fitness franchise
