Gym Group casts eye over vacant retail sites

Fast-growing fitness operator Gym Group is eyeing a push into some of the shops and out-of-town sites left vacant by recent retail collapses such as Toys R Us.

The low-cost gym firm, which yesterday reported a second year of profits, is planning further expansion in 2018, with up to 20 additional sites expected to be opened.

Chief executive John Treharne said the group was set for another year of “substan- tial growth”, with the failure of the likes of Toys R Us and Maplin offering the potential for expansion.

Gym Group now has 128 sites across the UK and some 664,000 members, having signed up 159,000 people last year and 57,000 in the first two months of 2018 alone.

Treharne said: “We have made considerable progress in 2017 and were the fastest growing low-cost fitness operator, substantially increasing our market share and rapidly expanding our estate. We… are excited about the future.”