Fitness firm opens third Yorkshire site following six-figure investment

A South Yorkshire fitness firm is expanding with the opening of its third site in Sheffield as coronavirus restrictions relax.

Firehouse Fitness now occupies a 12,000 sq ft unit at Archer Road Retail Park in Millhouses in its first venture in the South West of Sheffield. Its other units are based at Meadowbrook Park in Halfway and in Hillsborough.

Launched in 2013, Firehouse Fitness recently received a six figure investment which enabled it to acquire the former PureGym site at Archer Road. It has now transformed the unit into six different exercise zones, offering personal training, high intensity classes and holistic services.

Following the latest Covid-19 restrictions, it has been able to welcome 2,000 members to restart their fitness regimes at the site, meaning the business now has over 4,000 total members across its three branches.

Shane Beard, managing director for Firehouse Fitness, said: “This expansion comes when many leisure and retail businesses are reducing their estates.

“The lockdown has been incredibly tough both for our members and the 18-strong team at Firehouse Fitness and we were fully prepared to restart Covid-safe gym operations for those wanting to get back to their fitness routines.

“With our new location on a retail park now substantially refurbished, we have an important role to play in helping to sustain the park as it adapts to new uses and by bringing a sense of normal life and healthy routine back into people’s lives.”

Paul Gibbon, director of Wake Smith’s commercial property division, who advised on the lease, said: “We were pleased to be involved in helping Firehouse Fitness take advantage of a new location and, in turn, access a whole new set of customers.

“Retail parks are proving ideal sites for locating a gym as they benefit from parking, flexibility and great signage, in what is clearly a difficult market for retailers currently. This is also a time when focussing on health and fitness has never been more important to so many people after a year of lockdowns.”