Jonathan Spaven has accepted a new position as property director with Britain’s growing 24 hour budget gym chain, The Gym.

This announcement follows news in June that The Gym has secured £50m funding to grow the property portfolio, opening between 20 and 30 new gyms each year.

Spaven, who was previously Matalan’s director of property, said: “The budget gym sector is growing, now occupying 18 per cent of the total gym market. Not bad for a concept which, before 2008, did not exist in the UK. In my previous role I managed a portfolio of 217 stores which has equipped me well for my new role at The Gym.”

Spaven will sit on the board of The Gym and will head up a team of four acquisition managers and a property development manager.

John Treharne, CEO at The Gym Group, added: “Jonathan shares our common goal. A large part of his previous role has been to plan and implement a successful expansion strategy and it is this experience that we really hope to tap into to drive the growth of our property portfolio.”