The growth of Anytime Fitness since its humble Stateside beginnings has been nothing short of remarkable. The 24-hour gym franchise has eclipsed the likes of McDonald’s, Subway and Pizza Hut with its rate of worldwide openings and recently topped Entrepreneur magazine’s Top Global Franchise list. And it’s now got another reason to celebrate as it passes 50 club openings in the UK.
The company reached the milestone with the opening of two new sites in High Barnet and Bicester and is aiming to open another 30 clubs on these shores by the end of the year, which would take its total to 81. It has already secured 150 premises for future openings, which, when completed, will make Anytime Fitness the largest health and fitness club in the UK based on number of sites.”
While Anytime Fitness Bicester has been opened by first-time franchisees Catherine Cook, Lesley Thompson and Steve Halsall, the High Barnet site has been taken on by 28-year-old Tom Norbury, who opened his first club in Basingstoke in 2012 and is aiming to open a further three sites in the coming years.
“Since we launched in the UK in 2010 we have set ourselves ambitious growth targets and therefore we are delighted to have reached this key milestone,” said Andy Thompson, UK chairman of Anytime Fitness. “A key factor in our success is the passion and enthusiasm of our franchisees, many of whom have always wanted to own their own business and are now flourishing with the support of our expert franchise consultants. It’s also great to see such a diverse range of people attracted to Anytime Fitness and the franchise industry, as demonstrated by the owners of our two latest clubs.”
Norbury added: “Anytime Fitness works hard to offer people a member experience that is unique to the fitness industry. Franchisees and their staff truly value members and want to help them improve not only their fitness, but also their confidence and general well-being. The club culture is brilliant and contributes to the sense of community, which is a key differentiator in what is a crowded market place.”
It seems Anytime Fitness won’t even have to break a sweat when it comes to securing its next 50 sites.”
Adam Pescod
EF's editor is tasked with ensuring these hallowed pages are rich with excellent, engaging and error-free stories for fabulous franchisors and franchisees. Pescod previously plied his trade penning pieces about pubs and pints. He is also a sucker for alliteration.
Adam Pescod
EF's editor is tasked with ensuring these hallowed pages are rich with excellent, engaging and error-free stories for fabulous franchisors and franchisees. Pescod previously plied his trade penning pieces about pubs and pints. He is also a sucker for alliteration.
