A County Durham gym business is opening its latest fitness facility on the back of a six-figure investment.
OneGym has used a £300,000 investment from the North East Growth Capital Fund to open a new fitness facility at Thinford Park near Spennymoor, close to the Durhamgate roundabout.
The new 24-hour gym is the sixth in the OneGym chain, joining branches in Bishop Auckland, Newton Aycliffe, Redcar, Thornaby and Stockton.
Read more: go here for more North East business news
Each of the firm’s previous gym openings have been backed by NEL Fund Managers, going back to 2012, and the company’s management team is now working on plans to open two further gyms in the North East before the end of this year.
The new Thinford Park facility includes studio space, saunas, sunbeds, changing rooms and a range of fitness equipment supplied by Italian manufacturer Panatta.
Eight new full-time jobs have been created in the new branch, taking the total number of people employed by OneGym to 40, with a number of freelance instructors also employed to deliver fitness classes across the chain.
Brothers Paul and David Pearson set up OneGym 10 years ago to offer users access to all the latest fitness equipment and classes without costly add-ons like swimming pools that they don’t necessarily want to use.
Investments in refurbishing the firm’s existing sites and adding in new equipment are also being made, with the Thornaby site being next on the list.
Managing director Paul Pearson said: “Like every other business in the leisure and hospitality sectors, we’ve experienced some real challenges through the pandemic, but we’ve been thriving over the last year and are looking ahead with real optimism.
“Thinford Park represents an ideal location for the next stage of our development. It can attract members from a wide range of surrounding communities in every direction, as well as from the nearby Amazon facilities, has great transports links and is close enough to our Newton Aycliffe and Bishop Auckland sites to make it an accessible 24-hour option for members there too.
“The response we’ve had so far has been extremely encouraging, and is further proof that the OneGym brand proposition is an attractive one for North East consumers who want value for money, great facilities and high standards of equipment and service.”
Jonathan Luke, portfolio director at NEL Fund Managers, said: “OneGym is firmly established as one of the leading names in the North East health and fitness market, and we’re proud to have played a part in the team’s continuing success.
“Having access to growth capital through different stages of their development is essential for ambitious North East firms and OneGym is continuing to show how to make great use of what’s available in the region.”
The North East Growth Capital Fund has been designed to create around 790 jobs in more than 70 regional firms over the life of the programme and offers unsecured investments of up to £500,000 to established businesses looking to realise their growth potential.
