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Health Club Management Handbook - Work in progress

Development Pipeline

Work in progress


Who’s building what in 2015? We offer an overview of the sector’s development pipeline, showcasing a selection of private and public operators’ plans for the coming year

While focusing its 2015 expansion plans on Asia, Fitness First will invest in its full estate
Vivafit started life in Portugal but has since expanded to a number of international markets
Around 10 new Fresh Fitness clubs will open in Norway and Sweden during 2015
Tennis legend Steffi Graf is involved in the Mrs.Sporty brand, which caters for women only
Pure Gym is interested in acquiring smaller gym groups, with the vision of reaching 140 sites across the UK by the end of 2015
easyGym currently operates 11 gyms in the UK, including its flagship site on London’s Oxford Street
US-based cycling microgym SoulCycle has confirmed it is eyeing a UK entry in 2015
Ready to float?: Speculation is rife over a possible Virgin Active IPO in 2015
DLL unveiled a new model for its clubs in late 2014. and will grow its portfolio in 2015
LA fitness is ‘premiumising its offering in London’, according to CEO Martin Long
In addition to opening more gyms in London, Gymbox wants to expand to other UK cities
Impuls will open more premium clubs as well as low-cost Lemon Gyms
GoodLife Fitness will look to grow its estate across all its brands

GLOBAL: Fitness First
In 2014, Fitness First announced plans to grow its footprint in Asia by around 60 per cent over five years. At the time of its statement, there were 88 Fitness First clubs in Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. The intention is to open a further 50 fitness clubs in the region by 2018, expected to cost US$100m (€72m, £59m).

These Asian regions will be the key focus for Fitness First in 2015, although the chain is also planning to open clubs in India and the UK. In total, up to 18 new club openings are planned for 2015 – 12 in Asia, five in India and one in the UK. In Asia, the greatest focus will be on Thailand, with up to five new openings.

Fitness First is also in talks to sell its 80 health clubs in Germany. The capital released by the German sale will, in addition to funding the 50 new Asian clubs, allow for a faster roll-out of the refurbishment and rebranding programme across the UK and Australia, as well as the development of ‘beyond the club’ initiatives and further new concepts like London’s microgym-style club The Beat.

Meanwhile, Fitness First Middle East – which operates under a licence – plans to open six clubs before the end of its financial year (end of June 2015) and a further five sites in the remaining months of 2015. The six sites, leases for which have already been signed, will comprise two in Kuwait (taking the chain to six in that territory), one in Bahrain (to a total of four), and three in the UAE – of which two in Abu Dhabi.

Fitness First Middle East has expanded rapidly over recent years, with a portfolio that has grown from 17 sites in 2011 to 61 clubs across 48 locations (many sites offer separate male and female clubs) by the end of 2014. These clubs are spread across six GCC countries: UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Jordan.

GLOBAL: Vivafit
Women-only fitness franchise Vivafit has outlined plans for significant international growth in 2015, with a total of 18 clubs already in the pipeline across Taiwan, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, India, Singapore, Oman, UAE and Spain. It’s also targeting a number of new markets for 2015: Kuwait, Jordan, Tunisia, Ecuador and the US.

Vivafit was established in Portugal in 2003 and has since grown to over 50 clubs, including 20 international sites in markets such as India, Singapore and the Middle East. Further expansion in Portugal is not planned until 2016.

GLOBAL: Anytime Fitness
Global fitness franchise Anytime Fitness has outlined ambitious global expansion plans for 2015. International development director John Kersh told Health Club Management: “For the past five years, we have been consistently opening at least 200 new gyms a year in the US, and we expect that number to remain consistent in 2015 and through the next several years.

 “Outside of the US, we expect to open another 200 locations spread between Europe, Asia, Australia and Latin America. We also continue to search for new markets globally in which we can locate suitable partners.”

The operator reached the milestone of 2,500 clubs in May 2014 with the opening of a new facility in Madrid, Spain.

EUROPE: HealthCity International
HealthCity International, one of Europe’s leading health club chains with a total of 338 clubs by the end of 2014 – split across its full-service operation HealthCity (63 clubs) and low-cost operation BasicFit (275 clubs) – has confirmed it will continue its focus on BasicFit in 2015.

BasicFit has already grown at the expense of HealthCity’s full-service clubs over recent years, with a number of sites being reconfigured and rebranded. In 2015, investment in the BasicFit estate will include the opening of 60 new BasicFit clubs.

EUROPE: Health & Fitness Nordic (SATS Elixia)
Scandinavian market leader Health & Fitness Nordic expects to continue its growth in 2015, outlining plans for a “significant number” of new openings.

Approximately five to 10 new clubs will be opened under the premium SATS Elixia brand in Norway, Sweden and Finland – a combination of greenfield sites and relocations. Meanwhile the group’s low-cost operation Fresh Fitness will see around 10 greenfield openings in Norway and Sweden in 2015.

EUROPE: Mrs.Sporty
Women-only fitness franchise Mrs.Sporty – which already operates clubs in seven European countries, with more than 520 sites in Germany and Austria and nearly 30 in Switzerland, Poland, Slovakia, Italy and Spain – has plans both for expansion and repositioning of its operation in 2015.

“We’re changing our training concept, moving away from hydraulic circuits towards functional training supported by our new Pixformance technology,” explains joint CEO Valerie Bönström. “We believe this will help expand our target group, as women love to exercise in this way and the results are amazing.”

She continues: “We plan to open up to 50 new clubs in Germany, five in Switzerland and 15 in Poland in 2015. Additionally, we plan to open our first franchise clubs in the Czech Republic and Moscow in 2015. We also plan to integrate Pixformance in at least 75 per cent of our clubs in the near future.”

UK & INTERNATIONAL: The Gym Group
UK low-cost operator The Gym Group is “positively exploring” overseas markets “in Europe and beyond”, CEO John Treharne told Health Club Management last year. “Certainly we’d be disappointed if things hadn’t progressed by mid-2015,” he added.

But the brand isn’t taking its eye off the UK. “We’re eager to press ahead with our UK expansion and will look at incorporating market trends like HIIT – most likely in our larger clubs – but still maintaining our low-cost concept,” said Treharne.

“The plan is to continue rolling out 20–25 gyms a year and we’ll hit 100 gyms in the UK in 2016, regardless of any opportunities we pursue overseas.”

UK & INTERNATIONAL: Pure Gym
Peter Roberts, the founder and CEO of low-cost operation Pure Gym, has outlined his vision of maintaining an aggressive opening programme of new sites throughout 2015. “We’re continuously looking for new sites throughout the UK and are still interested in future acquisitions of smaller gym groups, with the vision of having 140 gyms open by the end of 2015,” he explains.

“We’re also looking to expand our overseas portfolio in Europe, as well as other countries outside of Europe.”

Pure Gym reached 90 UK sites by the end of 2014, with an addition of 20 new gyms in the second half of the year. This included five new clubs in London, one of which – in Hammersmith – is now the largest of 13 Pure Gyms in the city.

UK & INTERNATIONAL: The énergie Group
The énergie Group has outlined plans to open 36 clubs in England and Wales in the course of 2015, and a further 48 clubs in 2016. “We will open two clubs a month from January 2015, three a month from April, and four a month from October,” says énergie CEO Jan Spaticchia. The focus for 2015 will be on low-cost model Fit4Less with an estimated 30 new sites, including six in Q1.

There will also be international openings, with Fit4Less clubs to open in Latvia and Poland in Q1 2015.

By end of 2014, énergie had a total of 90 clubs open or in presale across its various brands: énergie Fitness, énergie Fitness for Women and Fit4Less. Most are in the UK and Ireland, but with three sites in Latvia and one in Qatar. In addition, the group had 44 fully funded franchisees in the pipeline, with licences for 66 clubs.  

UK & INTERNATIONAL: easyGym
Budget chain easyGym, which currently operates 11 gyms in the UK, has outlined plans to add six to eight clubs in the UK in 2015. It also intends to begin international expansion in 2015, with an entry into Europe and Africa.

UK & INTERNATIONAL: Jetts
Australian 24/7 gym chain Jetts is aiming to gain a foothold in Europe with a series of club openings in the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.

Having grown exponentially to 250 clubs in Australia and New Zealand since launching in 2007, Jetts opened its first club in the Dutch student city of Leiden last year, with plans for three more gyms across the UK and Netherlands by mid-2015.

Former Cannons Health Clubs MD Martin Oliver is Jetts’ CEO, while Fitspace director Kenny McAndrew has been appointed to head up UK operations.

UK & EUROPE: Xercise4Less
Low-cost operator Xercise4Less announced a funding package of approximately £20m in Q4 2014, which will enable the operator to double the size of its estate in 2015.

Speaking exclusively to Health Club Management, MD Jon Wright said: “We’re looking to complete 30 new clubs in 2015 – both nationally across the UK and into Europe – building on the 28 or 29 clubs open or in presale by the end of 2014.”

UK & EUROPE: High Five Health Promotion / ECW
Corporate wellbeing specialist High Five Health Promotion, which is based in the Netherlands but entered the UK in 2014 with the acquisition of ECW, has clear growth plans for 2015 and beyond.

CEO Paul Kienstra says: “I believe we can reach 50–100 sites in the UK just through organic growth in five to 10 years, but for me it’s not really about number of sites. It’s about number of employees, about which sites you bring on-board as clients. Of course you have to start small, and we really appreciate small contracts, but we’re also going to aim for the bigger ones. I believe we can reach an annual turnover of £15–20m in five to 10 years.”

It’s not just about organic growth either, with further acquisitions possible.

As for Germany, where the company currently has one site: “We believe Germany should be growing organically, because the market is less mature than in Holland and the UK.”

Kienstra adds: “We now have European reach – we already deliver services in the UK, Germany and the Netherlands, with Belgium on the table. I think we’re well-positioned to go into other countries too, such as Switzerland and Austria, but we won’t do it too fast.”

UK & EUROPE: 1Rebel
1Rebel, launched by co-founders James Balfour and Giles Dean, will open its first club in the City of London in January 2015, followed by a second in April.

“We’d expect to reach five or six clubs in the UK before the end of Q1 2016,” says director/investor Kevin Yates. “We plan to roll the concept out in the wealthier parts of the UK and Europe, expanding across key cities. This includes Scandinavia, where we are already actively investigating opportunities.

“Expansion will be through both company-owned facilities and franchises.”

UK & SOUTH AFRICA: Virgin Active
Interest is hotting up around the Virgin Active business amid ongoing speculation over a possible IPO in 2015.

In the meantime, the operator is continuing to invest in R&D. Last year, it announced plans to launch two new ‘technology-focused’ clubs in London during early 2015. The new clubs – in Merchant Square, Paddington and the Walbrook Building, Cannon Street – will be the chain’s first fully ‘connected’ health clubs in the UK, with digital technology “built in to every step of a member’s journey, from arrival, to the gym floor”. The clubs will see the latest gym equipment link up with fitness apps and devices, enabling members to track and measure all aspects of their exercise routine.

The hi-tech sites are part of Virgin Active’s three-year, £100m investment programme, partly intended to meet members’ growing demand for the latest technological innovation.

Meanwhile, Virgin Active South Africa, which already operates more than 100 clubs across the country, will be rolling out its new Virgin Active RED brand – a premium low-cost offering with large clubs divided into a number of impressive, extensive training zones.

UK & US: SoulCycle
New York-based cycling microgym SoulCycle has confirmed it’s finally planning to come to London in 2015.

SoulCycle has grown from one studio in Manhattan in 2007 and now has 30 US studios across New York, the Hamptons, New Jersey, Connecticut, Los Angeles, Washington DC, Boston and San Francisco. The aim is 60 by the end of 2015. It also plans to make a foray overseas, starting with Britain. “We’re planning on London in the next year,” confirms Gabby Cohen, SoulCycle’s marketing director. “We really try to have more than one studio when we open.”

UK & INDIA: Snap Fitness
Global 24/7 gym franchise Snap Fitness has set its sights on major growth in the UK through a new master development agreement with fitness start-up TwentyTwoYards.

Set up earlier this year by Australian businessmen and fitness enthusiasts Matt Quinn and Scott Jones, TwentyTwoYards plans to open 200 locations over the next four years. An as yet undefined number of these clubs will be operated by TwentyTwoYards, while a significant number will be franchised to third parties. A first location is expected to open in March.

Speaking exclusively to Health Club Management, Quinn said the chain would be seeking to attract “hidden demographics” who can’t afford mid-range club membership fees but who expect a better package than those offered by the low-cost sector.

There are currently three Snap Fitness clubs operating in the UK, with eight more in development. These will now fall under TwentyTwoYards’ remit as the area developer, although they will continue to be legally licensed to Snap Fitness. Going forward, new franchises will be licensed from TwentyTwoYards.

Snap Fitness is also planning to significantly expand its operations in India, where it has already opened 50 clubs since selling its first franchise in 2009. An additional 300 clubs are now set to open by the end of 2017.

At present, Snap Fitness has more than 2,000 clubs open or in development across 15 countries worldwide.

UK: Sports Direct Fitness
High street retailer Sports Direct has outlined plans for its new Sports Direct Fitness gym brand, with an initial offer of £5 a month membership (or £8 a month including group exercise).

Embracing the ethos on which Sports Direct founder Mike Ashley built his retail empire, the gym arm will sell memberships at this low rate with the aim of capturing market share and fostering rapid growth. Plans are for a 200-club estate.

Mel Crossland, head of sales and products for Sports Direct Fitness, told Health Club Management: “We’re expecting large amounts of additional spend from gym users, both because of the convenience of the on-site store for impulse buys and the fact that they’re the exact target market for Sports Direct products.

“The stores will be busy in their own right, so the gyms will also benefit from increased footfall. We’re following the Sports Direct model of focusing on becoming the biggest.”

Sports Direct Fitness made its initial entry into the market by acquiring 23 former LA fitness sites. Going forward, however, the primary model will be offering Sports Direct’s gym and retail outlets side-by-side; the first such site opened in Aintree in mid-December, with openings in Keighley and St Helens hot on its heels. Four more new-builds – two in southern England, one in Wales and one in Scotland – were going through planning as this book went to print.

UK: LA fitness
Having emerged from its CVA late last year, LA fitness has confirmed that the remainder of its estate – approaching 50 clubs – will receive upgrades beginning in early 2015.

Capital will start to be released at the end of Q1 2015, with all clubs due to receive investment – including completing the roll-out of LA fitness’ new Primal functional training zones and programming.

In addition, throughout the course of 2015, a further seven of the 13 central London clubs will be upgraded and rebranded to the LAX by LA fitness brand – the operator’s premium offering. These will join the existing three LAX clubs – St Botolph’s in the City of London, South Kensington and London Wall.

“We’re ‘premiumising’ our offering in London,” confirmed CEO Martin Long, speaking exclusively to Health Club Management. “At this stage I don’t plan for any more than 10 LAX clubs in total, all in prime London locations. However, even those clubs that remain under the LA fitness brand will be brought up a level in terms of their offering.

“In 2015 most of the investment will be within the M25, but the entire estate will have received a facelift by January 2016.”

There are also plans for growth going forward. “I would like to be able to open new clubs, including experimenting with new formats,” said Long. “Our shareholders are currently the banks that have seen us through the CVA, and they’ve been fantastic supporters, but they aren’t the long-term holders of the business. We have a lot of resources available for stage one of our plans, but at some point during 2015 or 2016 we’ll be looking for new investors to help us accelerate our plans and grow.”

UK: JD Gyms
Retail megabrand JD Sports, which announced its entry into the gym market with the launch of its new JD Gyms brand in early 2014, has outlined plans for expansion of this division in 2015.

Having opened its second health club in December 2014 in Liverpool city centre – in a Grade II listed, three-storey property – it will open a further two sites in Q1 2015. “Following this, we’re looking to roll out further sites for the next year. However, we’re also open to expansion through acquisition,” says JD Gyms MD Alun Peacock.

JD Gyms’ health clubs will generally be 15,000–35,000sq ft sites located in high population centres, with a variety of equipment from different manufacturers rather than a reliance on one as part of a ‘best in class’ strategy.

“For the time being, the gyms will not be located within JD Sports stores, but this is not ruled out,” adds Peacock.

Memberships will cost between £15 and £20 a month, with members benefiting from “innovative décor using retail shop fitting experience, and a big emphasis on group exercise with dedicated main studio, group cycling studio and gym floor-based programme”.

UK: David Lloyd Leisure
David Lloyd Leisure has outlined growth plans across its portfolio for 2015, with four new Health & Racquets Club sites scheduled to open, and a further six DL Studios premises throughout the UK. The operator has also unveiled plans to roll out further Orangetheory Fitness locations, both in high street studios and in mainstream DLL clubs.

UK: Gymbox
In July 2014, UK operator Gymbox announced it had gained investment capital of £10m from the Business Growth Fund (BGF), with Clearwater International securing the deal as well as an additional £7m in fresh loans.

Gymbox said it planned to use the funding to build on its portfolio of five clubs in London, with three additional sites already secured when the funding was secured – one of which opened in Old Street in Q4 2014, and with the new Westfield Stratford club due to open in February/March 2015.

The operator also stated a longer-term goal of opening further gyms in London, as well as expanding to other UK cities.

UK: Fitness4less
UK budget operator Fitness4less, which had a portfolio of 14 clubs by the end of 2014, has outlined plans to open a further four to six clubs in 2015. Locations were still to be confirmed at the time of going to press, but director Emma Edwards says it’s likely four of the clubs will be owned by Fitness4less, with the other two new sites to be operated on a franchise basis.

UK: Xen-Do
Xen-Do, a family-run group of martial arts clubs in London, is hoping the launch of its fourth site in Baker Street will be the catalyst for significant expansion in 2015.

“For the time being we aim to grow in London, and we’re then looking to expand in the key regional cities such as Manchester, Birmingham and Bristol,” says owner Rafael Nieto.

The company is exploring the possibility of complementing its standalone independent clubs with the opening of Xen-Do studios inside existing health clubs. “We’d really like to partner with some leisure centre operators,” confirms Nieto.

PORTUGAL: Fitness Hut
Portuguese low-cost operator Fitness Hut announced in July 2014 that it had secured access to €12m (US$16.2m, £9.4m) of growth funding through Portuguese investment fund Oxy Capital.

Off the back of this funding, the health club chain unveiled plans to expand to 12 clubs by the end of Q1 2015 – including five new openings in March – and 20 clubs by the end of 2015.

Fitness Hut was launched in 2011 by Nick Coutts, Andre Groen and JP Carvalho.

SPAIN: AltaFit
Spanish health club franchise AltaFit has announced its intention to continue its growth across the country. Having taken its number of clubs to the mid-30s by the end of 2014, it outlined plans to open 20 gyms a year, to reach 100 gyms in 2018.

The low-cost operation charges €19.90 a month + VAT, which includes gym and group exercise classes.

FINLAND: GoGo
Family-owned Finnish operation GoGo Liikuntakeskus Oy, which had 10 clubs open by the end of 2014 – three full-service premium GoGo clubs, and seven GoGo Express budget clubs – has said it plans to open a further three clubs in 2015, all under the GoGo Express brand.

LITHUANIA: Impuls
Lithuanian chain Impuls, which operated 11 premium clubs in the country by the end of 2014, has strong expansion plans for 2015. In addition to opening new clubs under the Impuls brand, both as new sites and acquisitions, the operator will also be launching a budget brand.

Set to operate under the brand name Lemon Gym, the new budget concept will be structured around approximately 1,000sq m of floor space. There will be no group exercise, but high quality gyms with good parking and visibility.

The first Lemon Gym is scheduled to open in January 2015 in Lithuania’s capital city Vilnius, and is set to be the first budget club in the country. At least four more budget clubs will then open in the first half of 2015, with the whole estate set to grow to 20 clubs during the course of the year.

SOUTH AFRICA: Zone Fitness
South African budget fitness operator Zone Fitness is, according to MD Du Toit Britz, “in a growth phase, with plans to open four to five clubs a year”.

The chain, which launched in 2002, currently operates 18 clubs with over 100,000 members – including three new clubs that opened in Q4 2014. “These clubs are mostly in Cape Town, with much of the new expansion now focused on Johannesburg and Pretoria,” adds Britz.

The business is completely privately owned and managed by four partners.

CANADA: GoodLife Fitness
Canadian operator GoodLife has unveiled plans to grow both its existing GoodLife Fitness estate, and its new low-cost brand, Fit4Less by GoodLife.

Fit4Less is designed to be a fun, energetic, low-cost offering. As with GoodLife Fitness, the focus is on providing convenient, caring environments that promote no judgements.

GoodLife’s long-term intention is to grow to 500 Fit4Less clubs nationwide. Overarching this, the ultimate goal is to have over 1,000 clubs in Canada under the GoodLife umbrella, which includes GoodLife Fitness, Fit4Less, and Énergie Cardio and EconoFitness in Quebec.

UK PUBLIC SECTOR & TRUSTS

Places for People Leisure

Leisure operator Places for People “will continue to tender for the much larger flow of local authority leisure management contracts coming to the market,” says incoming CEO Sandra Dodd. “We’ve won 10 new local authority contracts in the last 18 months, which adds significantly to the 30 contracts we already had.

“Cash-strapped local authorities are realising the benefits of outsourcing and we’re bidding for this much greater flow of contracts in competition with other major operators such as Everyone Active and GLL.

“We’re also opening our first new standalone budget community club, called Places Gym, in Corby in the spring. This will be in addition to the site in Sheffield which we converted to the Places Gym brand in mid-2014.”

UK PUBLIC SECTOR & TRUSTS

Nuffield Health

Nuffield Health has signed £330m of debt facilities as it bids to widen its footprint in the UK health club market, as part of a push towards integrated care pathways. The business secured the funds – from a combination of banks and institutional lenders – to further its strategic development plans for an integrated approach to fitness, prevention and cure across hospitals, consumer and corporate fitness, and wellbeing markets.

The operator has confirmed that it could potentially make further acquisitions in 2015, following on from its acquisition of nine Virgin Active clubs in August 2014 – five of which were within five miles of Nuffield hospitals, allowing for the development of extended care pathways.

“We’ll certainly be looking at more deals like this, particularly in markets where we’re under-represented like London, where we want to boost overall integrated wellness offerings with more diagnostic facilities as well,” Nuffield Health deputy CEO KP Doyle told Health Club Management. “We’re always in discussions with other operators about portfolio opportunities, continuing our strategy towards a national network of fitness and wellbeing facilities,” he added.

Nuffield has also announced a strategic partnership with Manchester Metropolitan University, which will see construction of a major facility in central Manchester, incorporating a state of the art hospital, wellbeing and rehabilitation services.

 



Nuffield Health is focusing on extended care pathways to bring together prevention and cure
UK PUBLIC SECTOR & TRUSTS

1Life

“During 2015, 1Life will relaunch its fitness product to include face-to-face and digital solutions for its customers,” says MD Neil King. “We will also be launching our Health and Wellbeing strategy, starting with the roll-out of our Healthy Walks programme, which has already proved to be highly successful in our pilot areas. And by the end of the year, we’ll have an additional 4,000 children enrolled onto our swimming lesson programme.”
 



1Life will roll out its Healthy Walks programme, which it has piloted with great success
UK PUBLIC SECTOR & TRUSTS

GLL

Having been awarded long-term leases for six of Swindon’s leisure facilities, leisure operator GLL has confirmed it will make an initial £3m investment of its own funds to enhance facilities and services across the borough, in addition to £2m of investment in the facilities from the local authority.

Meanwhile, in the north of the country, GLL has announced a new merger deal with Carlisle Leisure Limited (CLL), to operate all of the leisure and sporting facilities in Carlisle and Allerdale from 1 February 2015.

“We’re looking forward to consolidating our national growth in 2015, which starts with CLL merging with GLL. We will also begin mobilisation of our leisure contract in York, which will see York Community Stadium being built for the city,” says GLL MD Mark Sesnan. “We also plan to continue our diversification beyond leisure, as we operate children’s centres in Greenwich, and continue to build on our successful library service.”

 



GLL will continue to diversify beyond leisure in 2015, including its library service
UK PUBLIC SECTOR & TRUSTS

Hinckley, Leicestershire – summer 2015

Hinckley and Bosley Borough Council has appointed DC Leisure (now Places for People Leisure) to design, build and manage Hinckley’s new £13.5m leisure centre, due to open in summer 2015.

The operator will maintain the facility for a 20-year period in partnership with the local council.

The new facility will include a 120-station gym fitted with Precor equipment, alongside two group exercise studios. There will also be an eight-lane 25m swimming pool, a learner pool with moveable floor, a climbing wall, and an eight-court sports hall.

UK PUBLIC SECTOR & TRUSTS

Preston, Surrey – late summer 2015

Work is underway on a new multi-million pound leisure community and youth skills centre in Preston, Surrey.

Pellikaan Construction will be bringing the plans from S&P Architects to life, with work expected to finish in late summer 2015.

The £10m centre is a joint venture between Reigate & Banstead Borough Council and Surrey County Council, and will be operated by GLL. It will feature a 25m six-lane swimming pool, a teaching pool, a 60-station gym, plus a dance and exercise studio.

On the sports side, the new centre will offer a four-court sports hall, four five-a-side football pitches, space for community activities, a café, crèche, and a neighbouring youth skills centre.

 



Pellikaan Construction will be bringing the plans from S&P Architects to life
UK PUBLIC SECTOR & TRUST

Stratford, London – autumn 2015


Building work is progressing on the £14.7m redevelopment of the Atherton Leisure Centre in Stratford, London.
The old building is to be replaced with a progressive structure used to house two community swimming pools, as well as a gym and fitness studios.

The new structure will have a strong focus on sustainability, with an eco-friendly system used to convert waste heat into electricity. The centre’s roof will harvest rainwater, while helping to form a living surface covered in recycled soil – a habitat in which plants and wildlife will be able to flourish.
The redeveloped centre is expected to open in the autumn of 2015.

UK PUBLIC SECTOR & TRUST

Oldham, Greater Manchester – Q3 2015

Construction work is underway on the new £15m flagship leisure facility for Oldham town centre.
Working to designs from Nottingham-based GT Architects, Willmott Dixon has begun on constructing the site, which is expected to be completed during Q3 of 2015.

The facility – to be operated by Oldham Community Leisure – will act as a physical bridge linking Oldham College to Oldham Sixth Form College, helping to deliver a coherent campus site with first-class facilities.
The facility will include an 80-station fitness studio, group cycling studio and two additional group exercise studios. There will also be a 25m, eight-lane county competition standard pool with spectator seating, plus a separate learner pool. Other facilities will include an eight-court sports hall with flexible seating for 500 spectators and a four-rink indoor bowls hall.

 



The £15m facility will act as a bridge between the two colleges
UK PUBLIC SECTOR & TRUST

Grimsby, Yorkshire – autumn 2015


Work has begun on the new £8.4m Grimsby Leisure Centre, which is expected to be complete by autumn 2015.

The facility will replace Grimsby Swimming Pool and also the fun pool within Grimsby Leisure Centre, creating a county competition standard facility with supporting gym and fitness facilities.

The new FaulknerBrowns-designed centre – to be operated by Lincs Inspire – will include a 25m, eight-lane swimming pool with learner pool, changing facilities, plus a health and fitness suite with studio space and a café.

 



The new centre will offer a 25m, eight-lane swimming pool with learner pool
Neath, Wales – late 2015

The Welsh coastal region of Aberavon is to become home to a new multi-million pound leisure development, with work well underway on the construction of Neath’s beachfront leisure centre.

Led by developer Corban Investments and contractor Heron Bros, the projected is expected to cost £13.4m and will deliver a range of new leisure and community-focused facilities.

Expected to be completed in late 2015, the McAlister Armstrong & Partners-designed development is to feature a 25m pool with moveable floor, multiple changing facilities, a gym and fitness suite, a sports hall with four courts, a separate indoor cycling room and a dance studio.

UK PUBLIC SECTOR & TRUST

Workington, Cumbria – November 2015

Work is underway on Allerdale Council’s new £9.4m leisure centre in Workington, Cumbria.
The centre will include a 100-station gym, group cycling studio, 25m eight-lane swimming pool, four-court sports hall, soft play area, climbing wall, artificial pitch, two squash courts and spa facilities including sauna, steamroom and spa pool.

 



Allerdale Council’s new £9.4m leisure centre
UK PUBLIC SECTOR & TRUST

Flitwick, Bedfordshire – winter 2015

Plans for a new Flitwick Leisure Centre to replace the existing facility have been approved by Central Bedfordshire Council, with hopes of a winter 2015 opening date. The new £12.5m centre, designed by B3 Architects, will be operated by Stevenage Leisure and will include a 120-station gym, three group exercise studios, an eight-lane pool, a four-court sports hall, two squash courts, an indoor climbing wall, and a health referral room for confidential health and wellbeing advice.
 



The new £12.5m centre will be operated by Stevenage Leisure
UK PUBLIC SECTOR & TRUST

Handy Cross Hub, Wycombe – end of 2015

Wycombe District Council has appointed Mace Real Estate as lead developer for its £150m Handy Cross Hub mixed-use development. The 17-acre site, overlooking the Chilterns, will include a sports and leisure centre, 150-bedroom hotel, offices and retail.

Mace is acting as development manager, as well as providing a wide range of services including project management, cost management and design services.

Phase one of the redevelopment started in spring 2014, with the AFLS+P Architects-designed sports and leisure centre due for completion towards the end of 2015. It will include a 12-court sports hall, eight-lane 50m swimming pool, health suite, 150-station gym, four-rink indoor bowls hall, two squash courts, climbing wall and a café.

 



Phase one of the redevelopment project started in spring 2014
UK PUBLIC SECTOR & TRUST

Chesterfield, Derbyshire – early 2016

Work is underway on the £9.3m Queen’s Park Sports Centre in Chesterfield, which is due to open in early 2016.

The facility will house an 80-station gym, activity studio, three training rooms, an eight-lane swimming pool, a learner pool, eight sports courts – all featuring spectator seating – and two squash courts. There will also be a café and social space. Plans also include dedicated changing facilities to accommodate the different leisure formats on offer at the centre.

The project’s main backers are Chesterfield Borough Council and Chesterfield College, which has agreed a dual-use contract for the site, with Morgan Sindall appointed as the contractor.

 



Chesterfield College has agreed a dual-use contract for the site
UK PUBLIC SECTOR & TRUST

Nottingham – June 2016

The University of Nottingham has announced plans to invest £40m in a new sports complex at its University Park campus.

The complex will include a new main sports hall, 200-station health and fitness suite, sports science facilities and office accommodation. It will also incorporate two adjoining and adaptable 10-court sports halls, a climbing wall, indoor sprint track, strength and conditioning facility, archery and fencing hall, dance studios, snooker hall and martial arts dojo. Squash courts are proposed, including a full glass court with spectator seating.

Work is due to start in February 2015 and be completed by June 2016.

 



The uni will invest £40m in the new complex
UK PUBLIC SECTOR & TRUST

Belfast, Northern Ireland – 2016

Planning approval has been granted for a new leisure complex within the Windsor Park stadium in Northern Ireland.

The new development, led by Belfast City Council, will replace the site’s existing Olympia Leisure Centre and will be incorporated into the stadium’s new West Stand. It will provide leisure facilities including a pool, learner pool, café, gym, sports hall, indoor cycling studio and ancillary accommodation.

It will form part of a wider £29.2m redevelopment of Windsor Park, which will become an 18,000 all-seater stadium. Work is scheduled to be completed by 2016.

 



The new development will be incorporated into the stadium’s West Stand
UK PUBLIC SECTOR & TRUST

Coventry Leisure Centre – July 2019

Coventry City Council has approved plans for a new £37m swimming pool, water park and leisure centre in Coventry city centre, meaning the West Midlands’ only 50m swimming pool will be forced to close.

The new city centre site will feature a cheaper-to-run 25m pool, water park with slides, fitness suite, climbing wall, squash courts and spa. Council planning officers say building a 50m pool, instead of a 25m pool with water park and leisure facilities, would not encourage enough visitors and families to the city and would cost an extra £5.5m over the 45-year period of financial modelling.

Work is due to begin on the new facility in 2017, with a planned opening date of July 2019.

 



Coventry’s only 50m swimming pool will close, replaced by a 25m pool

Originally published in HCM Handbook 2015 edition

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