Member Article

Budget North East gym expands to Redcar with £170k investment

OneGym, the Budget North East fitness business, is expanding to Redcar following a £170k investment from NEL Fund Managers.

The site will be OneGym’s third in the region, having initially launched in Bishop Aucklandi n 2012 and subsequently in Bishop Auckland, in 2014.

A successful North East ‘no frills’ fitness business is building up for a healthy future after making its first move into Teesside.

Paul and David Pearson started the business to offer users access to the latest fitness equipment without costly add-ons, like swimming pools and saunas that they don’t necessarily want to use.

Both County Durham gyms were funded by investments from the Finance For Business North East Fund, which is run by local fund management firm NEL Fund Managers, as well as capital from NatWest Bank and the firm’s management team.

OneGym returned to NEL for a further investment to support the opening of its new gym on Wilmore Road in Redcar, a site offered to them by their landlords in Bishop Auckland.

Six new jobs have been created at the two floor facility, which takes the total number of people employed by OneGym to 18.

The Redcar gym has space for various different fitness classes as well as a wide range of the latest exercise equipment. New members either join via www.onegymfitness.com or at a purpose-built booth on the premises.

Managing director Paul Pearson, who has a longstanding background in the health and fitness industry, says: “Both the Bishop Auckland and Newton Aycliffe gyms have been running very successfully, and have proved that the low cost gym concept works well in the North East.

“We can keep membership costs down by cutting out all the added frills that gym users don’t necessarily want, but end up paying for anyway elsewhere, while still offering the top quality equipment and changing facilities that people expect and tailoring the way we operate precisely to meet users’ needs.

“Redcar has long been on our radar as a place in which we’d like to have a presence, so it’s great to be trading in what is an excellent location.

“We’ve got some very well-known names around us which has a big positive impact on brand visibility and footfall, and since opening our doors, we’ve had a great deal of interest in what we offer, which is very encouraging.

“We’ve had a great relationship with the NEL team, and the way in which they get on and get things done in a very efficient manner means we can get on with developing the business as we want to.”

Jonathan Luke, senior portfolio executive at NEL Fund Managers, adds: “Making progressive use of investment capital helps businesses move forward at different points in their development, and the OneGym team provides a great example of how to do this in a planned and strategic manner.”

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