“Research areas that have the right target audience – don’t be afraid of the competition”

Australian husband and wife duo, Charlie and Lauren, launched London’s first BFT in Battersea – with big plans ahead for more locations

Following on from the UK’s first BFT studio in Leicester in 2022, the capital’s newest community-based fitness studio has proved that London is the perfect spot for fitness franchisees looking to start a successful business.

Pre-opening, the new studio based in Battersea had already broke even by day one, with more than 140 members signing up.

Before becoming BFT’s first London-based franchisee, Charlie had worked in Australia training BFT coaches. Seeing the strength of the brand in the southern hemisphere, the opportunity to expand the brand into the UK with encouragement from head office was ripe for the picking.

With Charlie’s coaching abilities combined with Lauren’s experience in marketing and management, the duo was well placed to bring Australia’s fastest-growing fitness franchise to London.

The successful launch of Battersea is the first of many for Charlie and Lauren, who plan to open an additional nine locations across South West London over the next three years.

“I enjoyed every minute of my time training BFT coaches, so it was a huge honour to launch the first BFT studio here in London,” says Charlie. “Of course, Lauren and I understood that launching a franchise in an untouched market comes with its challenges. However, with the fantastic support from BFT Global, we were confident that we would be able to do it as the strength and conditioning model BFT use is far superior to other fitness brands and their offerings.

“The launch was a huge success and each week we continue to build momentum. The response we’ve had from Battersea’s fitness community has been pretty incredible so far, and we can’t wait to start opening more studios.

“The BFT head office team was only an email or phone call away if we needed to ask any questions about recruitment, site selection or lease negotiations. They helped us with our local area marketing strategy for launch and recommended videographers and local businesses that could also help us raise our profile within the local community.

“We’ve had excellent member attendance since opening at the beginning of the year, which proves there’s a real demand for the training BFT has to offer. At BFT Battersea, we also focus on supporting our community’s fitness enthusiasts by assisting them in achieving their fitness goals regardless of their level of experience. I genuinely believe that one of the reasons for BFT’s popularity is that our community is the very core of our business.

“As well as creating a great vibe in the studio, we are able to support members by running eight-week challenges to help them achieve their fitness goals and also providing great meal plans and training programmes. So, whether they are interested in losing weight, building muscle, breaking a fitness plateau or simply developing healthier habits, we are here to guide and support them. There really is something for everyone at BFT.”

BFT has developed a program based on scientifically proven training techniques that use progressive training blocks. These training blocks follow validated periodisation principles and progressive overload, providing members with the most effective means of achieving their health and fitness objectives. These are the same principles and techniques top conditioning coaches use worldwide to train elite athletes.

“My advice for anyone looking to launch their own BFT studio would be to research areas that have the right target audience – don’t be afraid of the competition because BFT offers something truly different and better,” says Charlie. “As elite coaching is key to BFT success and member retention you also need to ensure you have the best team to deliver the programming at an elite standard.”