Total Fitness Health Clubs has appointed Richard Millman as its new chief executive officer, effective 25 February.

The move follows the recent board appointments of Brian Davidson and Warwick Ley (December 2012).

Ley, group director, said: "Since our arrival in December, it was always our plan to further strengthen management by introducing a first class CEO to the team.

"Richard has tremendous experience both in and outside the industry with an impressive track record to match. Brian, I and the wider team are really looking forward to working with Richard."

Millman is an leisure and retail industry veteran. He recently led the successful turnaround of Leisure Connection as CEO and has held senior positions in companies such as Dixons Retail and Coca Cola.

His arrival at Total Fitness coincides with a strong start to the year for the business, with January membership levels growing by 4 per cent, a like-for-like improvement of over 35 per cent on the same period last year.

Millman said: "I was attracted to Total Fitness by its latent potential and support of its funders.

"It is a business which has existed largely 'under the radar' in the industry but has some fantastic points of differentiation for its members. I'm excited about promoting these further and seizing the many opportunities available."

Total Fitness currently operates 16 fitness and leisure clubs across the North of England.

The Group has more than 77,000 members, approximately 550 employees and annual revenue of more than £30m.