Spain-based health club operator Metropolitan has revealed its plans to open "four or five" new facilities each year - both in its home market and into new areas across Europe.

Metropolitan chief executive officer Javier Pellón told Health Club Management of the company's ambition to move into the French, Portuguese and German markets. It is expected that the group's first non-Spanish location could be signed this year, with a view to opening within a couple of years.

Metropolitan's proposals - "no small ambition", according to Pellón - come after its new club at Barcelona's Las Arenas was launched back in March. Pellón told Health Club Management that the club had 4,000 people sign up ahead of its opening, despite the absence of a marketing or advertising campaign.

"We don't advertise - we get all our members through work of mouth, with members referring their friends, and we have waiting lists for all our clubs," said Pellón. "At our new club in Las Arenas, we had 4,000 people sign up in advance, again with no advertising or marketing. People simply heard about it, went online, and registered."

Read Javier Pellón's interview with Health Club Management (July 2011, pp 34-36): www.healthclubmanagement.co.uk/a.cfm?a=N2N9H