Everlast Gyms today (16 November) opened a new flagship property at the Metro Centre in Gateshead UK as part of a strategy to globalise the brand.

The 37,000sq ft health club occupies a former Debenhams department store.

Speaking exclusively to HCM magazine for a profile interview in the next edition, Everlast MD, Dan Summerson, said the Gateshead location will have a dual function, trading as a full service health club with up to 12,000 members, while also acting as a 'showroom' for Everlast's suite of fitness concepts, to enable joint venture partners to select elements to incorporate into their own health club developments.

With its retail connections through parent company Fraser’s Group, Everlast anticipates working with JV retail partners and other property investors via licences and franchises.

"We're gearing up for global expansion using the op co/prop co model – similar to the way hotels operate," said Summerson. "Although we have a portfolio of our own clubs in the UK, we don't want to build and operate overseas, so plan to do this through partnerships.

"Because we're part of retail giant, Frasers Group, we have the opportunity to develop the Everlast Gyms brand globally through our JV partnerships," says Summerson. "We expect our partners to visit Gateshead to view all our concepts under one roof."

The Gatehead club has a gym upstairs and large Sports Direct – another Frasers brand – downstairs, with the two being connected by an escalator, enabling cross-marketing.

"The gym is completely open-plan," says Summerson, "and big enough to house everything we do, including all the boutique elements and the big box elements – I don't think there's anything like it in the UK"

Club elements include weights and resistance and cardio areas, functional training offerings, a boxing ring, group cycling, Olympic platforms and a range of studio and wellness offerings, including ice baths, a coffee and shake bar and a barber. There's also full Myzone integration, while a bridge leads straight from the gym to the car park. Equipment is by Core Health and Fitness.

"We've created three different models in our JV 'menu'" says Summerson. "One's around 15,000sq ft, one's around 20,000sq ft and the other 25,000sq ft, with three different cost bases and three different expected EBITDAs. We wanted to create options and now we're ready to start implementing our global JV plan."

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