51 Cannons health and fitness clubs and nine Courtneys leisure centres aim to raise £1,000 each as part of a new partnership with the British Heart Foundation (BHF).

The partnership between the Cannons Group and the BHF intends to raise awareness of the benefits of exercise and healthy eating.

The partnership will be kick-started by a guest pass promotion scheme to run on weekends throughout April.

Each of the 165,000 members can treat a friend or relative to a day at the club at a discounted rate of £5, which will be donated to BHF.

All Cannons and Courtney’s clubs will organise local events for the BHF’s national campaigns such as Heart Week in June and a team of colleagues and members is already preparing for the Flora London Marathon on behalf of the charity.

The money raised will help the BHF to fund life-saving equipment and new Heartstart UK schemes, which save lives by providing emergency life support training.

The partnership, which will be reviewed after one year, follows a partnership with MIND, for which the Cannons Group raised more than £250,000 over three years.