London-based high-performance fitness club, ONE LDN, is raising funds for a multi-site expansion across London, the UK, and Europe over the next five years.

Founded in 2016 by Evgenia Koroleva – a former banker who has competed across a range of extreme sports including long-distance trail running, wakeboarding and snowboarding – the concept aims to democratise elite-level training.

Koroleva says she spotted a gap in the market when she launched the 18,000sq ft club: "Back in 2016, I had to go to a variety of boutique studios and have a range of memberships to train. The idea behind ONE LDN was to create a premium fitness experience with the best instructors, a very well-equipped gym, and boutique-style fitness classes, contract-free and at a price that didn't break the bank."

The facility is 80 per cent gym floor, with a functional fitness box, some recovery options, saunas and ice baths, priced at £160 a month. Three different types of group training are offered: hybrid/Hyrox, strength and holistic (yoga and Pilates.)

After lockdown Koroleva pivoted to home in on the "everyday athlete" a cohort she identified as driving the market. "For this demographic fitness isn't just access – it's an identity and provides a way of self-actualisation. ONE LDN has always been a gym for people who love gyms," she says.

"We homed in on that specific demographic – the Gen Z and young Millennials for whom fitness is a non-negotiable – and became extremely targeted. We installed an elevated, premium functional fitness box and it blew up. People called it ‘the playground’." That's how the clients we were looking after wanted to train – 400 of our members competed at the London Hyrox events in 2025/2026."

Koroleva says community drives ONE LDN: "One of the first hires I did after COVID was a full-time community manager because people were so starved of connection and the community really became the revenue engine for us.

"To this day, 47 per cent of my customers come through friend referrals. Our cost of customer acquisition to lifetime value is 47 times. Our customers come on average five times a week and they stay with us for two and a half years. The business is doing amazingly well - our EBITDA is 30 per cent."

In September 2024, ONE LDN was approached by Nike to become a partner gym. Over the past year and a half, Nike has planted its global research team within the gym, testing products and doing customer surveys. Together they have built a first ever Hyrox racing team, the Unbeatables and 19 of them have recently competed at the World Championships.

ONE LDN has not had any external funding previously, but Koroleva is raising £2.5 million of equity finance to open the next two sites. A few sites are under consideration in London, with hotspots identified and negotiations ongoing.