EasyGyms ‘to tear up the rule book’

The serial entrepreneur’s foray into the fitness sector comes after he teamed up with private equity-backed Fore Fitness last year.

EasyGym will shun luxury offerings, such as swimming pools and saunas, to offer basic gym facilities with membership costing from as little as £15 a month. Users will be able to sign up on a month-by-month basis, instead of being tied in for a year, with pay-as-you-go additions such as classes and personal trainer sessions.

The business will open this summer after taking on two sites in Slough and Wood Green in London from Virgin Active.

The Slough gym will open in June, followed by Wood Green in July and members will be able to sign up from April 15, when the website goes live for the first time.

Paul Lorimer-Wing, joint chief executive of easyGym, said: “We’re ripping up the rule book in the fitness sector by ensuring members pay for the stuff they use, not the stuff they never use.”

The group hopes to launch further clubs in 2011, building up to 10 a year across the UK from 2012 – with Europe also in its sights.

EasyGym said customers will be offered flexible payment options, state-of-the-art equipment and qualified gym staff.

Fore Fitness, which is an offshoot of venture capital firm Fore Capital Partners, has arranged a brand licensing deal to use the ‘easy’ name for the business.

The Fore Fitness team hails from the property, fitness and finance sectors,

EasyGroup is the private holding company that owns the easy brand and covers a wide range of websites such as EasyVan, EasyOffice and EasyHolidays.