Switching to a rental model for personal trainers will deliver a profit of £1.5m this year at Fitness Hut, CEO Nick Coutts has revealed.

The co-founder of the Portuguese market leader said the organisation had to rethink its previous model – based on PTs keeping just 35 per cent of the revenue they made onsite – when the economic downturn began to affect previously cash-rich members and PTs.

“It was a bad situation so we opted for a rental model,” Coutts told Health Club Management. “We now have more than 400 personal trainers across 26 clubs, on average paying around €400 (£354) a month in rent. It’s a business that’s heading towards £1.4–£1.5m this year for us, and that’s pure profit.”

For Coutts, it means that PTs who were feeling overworked in the previous model have greater independence and control over their work.

“We’ve avoided the headache of having to manage personal trainers, because under this arrangement, they’re independent – they can work when they want, as long as they’re paying their fees,” said Coutts.

“We don’t decide the pricing either: PTs decide how much they want to charge based on how confident they are, what time of year it is, who they’re training.”

The average PT at Fitness Hut charges €35 (£31) an hour but it ranges from €20–€50 (£18-£44), with top trainers making more than €6,000 (£5,300) a month. Between 10 and 15 per cent of members have a PT.

For more on Coutts’ strategy and plans for the future of Fitness Hut, see the September edition of Health Club Management, available here.