Celebrity personal trainer Mark Anthony has sold two of his Rush Fitness clubs to Swansea-based leisure trust Bay Leisure Ltd in a £1.5m (US$2m, €1.7m) deal.

Bay Leisure has bought the Uxbridge and Southend-on-Sea clubs and will rebrand them ‘Simply Gym’. Bay also operates three other gyms in Llansamlet, Gorseinon and Cwmbran, in Wales. 

The 14,000sq ft (1,300sq m) Southend gym is a 24-hour facility, offering cardio and strength equipment, classes and a spinning studio. The 19,000sq ft (1,765sq m) Uxbridge gym is also a 24-hr operation, offering cardio and strength kit and classes.

The Uxbridge club has 5,000 members and the Southend facility has 4,300.

Richard Proctor, Bay Leisure chief executive, said: “We are delighted to acquire the Uxbridge and Southend clubs from Rush and look forward to making these successful Simply Gym sites."

Mark Anthony, Rush Fitness chief executive, said: “We have hugely enjoyed building the Rush Fitness budget brand over the last four years and know that our Uxbridge and Southend clubs will continue to develop further with Bay Leisure."

Anthony will be focusing on the flagship Rush Fitness site in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, where he will soon launch boutique brand Push Hit.

Anthony previously owned a club in Notting Hill, London, where he trained celebrity clients including Katie Price, Billie Piper and Lucy Mecklenburgh.