Member Article

GRNDHOUSE raises £1.5 million investment for launch of fitness studio and app

London-based online fitness platform, GRNDHOUSE, co-founded by five leading fitness trainers, has raised a financing round led by venture capital firm Passion Capital (first investors in Monzo Bank, Butternut Box, urban and other leading brand and consumer propositions), strategic angel investors and also through the Seedrs equity crowdfunding platform. The investment will be used to launch a state-of-the-art 4,500sq ft film studio and facility, along with a community-centric app in early 2022, to make the benefits of boutique fitness accessible to everyone.

Having launched in January 2021, GRNDHOUSE secured more than 1000 subscribers within its first month of operations. Founded with one goal in mind; to demystify the outdated stereotypes around strength training and make it more accessible, the online platform offers a structured, daily strength and resistance-based programme via more than 400 on-demand classes. Designed to build strength, endurance, and confidence, each GRNDHOUSE class has a specific goal-based focus and offers progressions and regressions to cater for all levels of fitness.

Bringing together a wealth of experience from different fitness backgrounds, the five GRNDHOUSE co-founders have designed the programme to build strength, endurance and confidence.

• Louis Rennocks – Previously the Head of Events and Master Instructor at Barry’s UK, Louis is a well-respected name within the industry with clients including Myleene Klass.

• Izy George – Formerly a professional dancer, Izy’s been a long-time advocate for helping women to realise their physical strength and unlocking their full potential.

• Nik Naidoo – With a background in sports marketing, Nik has been in the fitness space for over five years, overcoming a stammer to become a leading trainer at Barry’s UK.

• Connor Minney – A natural in front of the camera and responsible for company operations, Connor was a Master Trainer at Barry’s UK and has a background in performing and presenting.

• Jay Copley – As a former Royal Marines Commando, Jay’s disciplinarian approach has served him well as a Master Trainer at Barry’s UK since June 2014.

Louis Rennocks, GRNDHOUSE Co-Founder, commented: “This investment enables us to level up our offering and expand our online presence offline with a physical studio launch. We believe community will be a key part in our growth and that’s why we’re so excited about the connective functionality of our app.

“We want to create a unique community vibe giving consumers the opportunity to train with work colleagues, friends and family wherever they are in the world, with workouts led by the best trainers in the world.”

Eileen Burbidge, Partner at Passion Capital, added: “We believe the future of work and life in general will be hybrid and while many individuals may want to get personal training in a gym, many more will appreciate the privacy and convenience of strength training in the comfort of their homes, places of work or even while travelling.

“The GRNDHOUSE founders are best in class as trainers but also in respect to their commitment and passion to delivering the highest quality strength training to people wherever they are. Even more crucially, their team diversity and positivity is their competitive advantage in attracting an ardent community of users from all over the world. We are thrilled to be a part of the GRNDHOUSE journey and can’t wait to see more and more people benefitting from the platform.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Peter Callahan .