Gym operator launches £1.2m investment round to expand operations

A community-focused gym operator has launched a fundraise aims to open up to 10 new locations over the next four years.

After launching CrossFit Putney, the UK’s first premium CrossFit gym in 2019, EQL Fitness will open a new a second London premises at the £3bn, 85-acre Wembley Centre in 2022. The new, 30,000 sq ft gym will cater to more than 2,000 new members within the development and will be the UK’s largest build-to-rent scheme.

EQL Fitness also intends to target the wider UK gym market, valued at over £5bn, by launching a new platform that uses AI, AR (augmented reality) and VR to deliver online fitness sessions to subscribers. Together with their technology partner Threedium, they will also be entering the metaverse and launching a Non-Fungible Tokens.

The company was founded by Michael Thorburn and Mateja Mitrovic. They saw a gap in the market for uniting the expanding CrossFit training methodology with the boutique gym environment to create a premium community-focused CrossFit gym that focuses on member experience.

The investment generated from this investment round will go towards the fit out of the Wembley premises which will feature premium CrossFit training facilities, including state of the art Technogym equipment with hands-on coaching support.

The site will also include an in-house café, where members can relax and socialise, and a dedicated event space supported by leading fitness brands to host competitions.

The remaining investment funds will go towards marketing support to further build the EQL Fitness brand and to develop the company’s online fitness training offering, which it is aiming to launch in July 2022.