Fitness company strengthens North East presence with new £1.3m gym

An expanding fitness firm has chosen a Northumberland town as the location for its second state-of-the-art training facility.

Vision Health & Fitness has invested £1.3m in converting a former police intelligence centre on Crowhall Road in Cramlington into a 20,000 sq ft gym which offers over 200 pieces of equipment, a 20m sprint track and a custom-built assault rig.

The new facility follows on from the 27,000 sq ft gym that Vision opened on the Sands Industrial Estate in Swalwell three years ago, with membership now giving users access to both locations.

Mark Clauzel, managing director at Vision Health & Fitness, said: “I’d always planned to open a training facility after I’d retired from the ring, and suffering the injury that eventually forced me to do so prompted me to put these plans into action.

“Over the years, we’ve done a lot of work on our customer journey, identifying why members join, stay and move on from their gyms, and we’ve gradually adapted our offering to keep the maximum number of people on our books.

“The Cramlington facility looks fantastic, is suitable for every level of user and has been extremely well received in the area, while now being able to provide the convenience to members of a multi-site offering is a real landmark for us.

“Consolidation will be our main aim this year, but we’re already looking at how we can move forward in 2020 and beyond, and are focusing on locations around the North East where we can offer members maximum value for money.

“The support we’ve had from Rachel and the RMT team has been phenomenal right from the start. They’ve helped shape our expansion plans and have the skills and knowledge we’ll need to support the next stages of our development.”

Plans are now being developed for opening two further training centres in 2020, with Sunderland and Durham being on the list of potential locations.

The company was founded 10 years ago by Mark, who is a former boxer and kick boxer who was forced to retire through injury at the age of 31. He then decided to put his knowledge of the fitness industry to commercial use.

Mark and business partner, Jason Atherton have grown the business by developing a model which encourages maximum member retention rates, while also directly employing their own trainers and instructors to ensure they are working to Vision’s specific standards.

Rachel Warriner concluded: “Mark and Jason have developed a clear style for the Vision brand, know exactly what they want to offer their members and are succeeding commercially as a result.

“Putting the right sort of tax efficient structures in place has enabled the company to maximise its premises and equipment investment and the results of this are clear to see in what is an excellent training facility.

“This has been a terrific project for us to be part of and we’re continuing to work with the business to ensure it stays fit for the future.”