Millions for fitness club where you go clubbing
CORE Collective, a ‘boutique’ fitness studio offering pay-asyou-go group classes and healthy food in its cafe, has raised twice its investment target through the Seedrs crowdfunding website.
The firm, founded by ex-City trader Jason de Savary, sought to raise £1,125,000, but managed £2.1 million.
Prices at its studio in London, which looks more like a nightclub than a gym, vary from £20 for a single class to unlimited sessions for £220 a month. Classes include power yoga. The gym, in Kensington, West London, opened in June 2015 and more outlets are planned.
De Savary, who is the nephew of entrepreneur and former Millwall Football Club chairman Peter de Savary, said: ‘I started by talking to the people I thought were really good.
‘Instructors are relatively neglected in terms of pay. So if you pay fairly, which we do, and have something cool that people are excited about, then it is relatively easy to build a team.’ Core collective runs 170 classes and takes 2,000 bookings each week. De Savary plans to use the money raised to open a second site in St John’s Wood, North-West London. He said: ‘We’re confident to go right on the high street because we’ve got a food element. A lot of people come in just for the cafe.
‘We’re trying to feel a bit less gym-y than other gyms. A gallery will hang pictures and have a chance to sell them.’
De Savary did not go to university and says he fell into commodities trading. He added: ‘I didn’t love it. I wasn’t the guy who was up reading reports on a Sunday. And I never wanted to get into that frame of mind where you’re dreading going to work.’