Military entrepreneur to launch new gym concept at Wellington Place

L1 Performance, created by Harrogate entrepreneur and fitness fanatic Kyle Harris, has acquired a 4,000 sq ft unit on the ground floor of 6 Wellington Place, Leeds.

Launching a new gym experience, which has never been seen before outside of London or New York before, into the city, the concept of L1 Performance was born out of Kyle’s nine years of active military service and his experience in developing gyms at Canary Wharf and across the globe.

Work is already underway onsite to install the state-of-the-art, duplex gym which features a 27 metre Astro Turf running track, a spinning room, a Pilates and Yoga zone, squat racks and training pods, along with a Health café and holistic and sports therapy treatment rooms.

Kyle Harris, owner of L1 Performance, commented: “The philosophy of my gym is focused on enjoyment, flexibility and functional fitness. There is no joining fee or membership costs, clients simply buy blocks of gym time to suit their needs. This offers two very clear benefits; firstly clients pay only when they use the facilities. Secondly this approach allows my team to manage the volume of people in the gym at any given time, meaning there will never be people queuing for equipment or unable to train and it allows the team to deliver a personalised experience.”

Set to launch in March 2016, L1 Performance has a four-strong team of personal trainers, all with a minimum of 10 years’ experience, who have been recruited from some of the city’s leading gyms such as Virgin Active and Nuffield Health, together with a former Leeds Rhino’s physiotherapist.

Harris continued: “I’ve been a personal trainer for more than 12 years, travelling the globe to gain new insights and techniques in order to enhance the results, journey and experience I can guarantee my clients.

“The concept of L1 Performance is to deliver long-term lifestyle fitness and wellness – not short-bursts of physical exercise that don’t provide any real benefit. Members of L1 Performance, literally just need to bring their gym kit with them, everything else from toiletries, towels and hair straighteners are provided.”

New members will begin their induction with a Function, Movement Screening and Body Fat analysis which is then repeated quarterly to track progress.

The gym will form part of the ground floor of 6 Wellington Place which is a 106,000 sq ft building within the wider 1.5m sq. ft. of grade A office, residential and hotel development which makes up the new Wellington Place business district that sits adjacent to 175,000 sq ft of existing office and retail space which is let to a host of well-known companies.

Wellington Place, which is being developed by MEPC, is just minutes from the train station and city centre on the junction of Northern Street and Whitehall Road.

The development is funded by a joint venture between Hermes Investment Management, the £21bn manager focused on delivering, sustainable, risk adjusted returns to its clients and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB), a professional investment management organisation that invests on behalf of 18 million Canada Pension Plan contributors and beneficiaries.

James Dipple, chief executive of MEPC, added: “We’ve definitely established a reputation for Wellington Place that confirms that the scheme is focussed on the working community with more than 2,000 professionals enjoying the environment we have created for them on a daily basis in the heart of the new corporate district of Leeds.

“Careful consideration has been invested into every aspect of our community, from the design finishes, public realms and events programme through to the independent eateries that deliver honest, hand-crafted food.

“We’ve worked closely with Kyle to help him develop this phenomenal new concept which will bring a genuine element of wellbeing to Wellington Place. Providing an urban quarter that delivers much more than just an office goes a long way to help our clients, such as Sky Betting & Gaming, Irwin Mitchell, Shulmans, Equifax and Squire Patton Boggs to recruit and retain employees.

“This is why we felt it paramount to bring L1 Performance to Wellington Place. Its long been recognised that a healthy workforce is a happy one, so we’ve been working with Kyle to develop a corporate membership offer and we’re hopeful that this will appeal to all of the businesses located here.”