“Our mission is to create an inclusive, empathetic and supportive environment for all our members, irrespective of their level of experience”

Snap Fitness: Officially the Best Fitness Franchise

We’ve been leading innovation in fitness since 2003, and this year we proudly received the Global Franchise Award for the Best Fitness Franchise. We were awarded this for our innovation in marketing, international business expansion and how we support our franchisees.

We’ve built a global network of over 1000 clubs in over 20 countries with more than a million members. We are unique in that we are the only global fitness franchise operator with dedicated regional support offices in each of the three key regions of the globe; the U.S., E.M.E.A. and Asia-Pacific. This optimally positions us to be able to create meaningful experiences for our franchisees, employees, and members alike.

In the thriving U.K. and Ireland region, we’ve been active since 2014, with 81 clubs currently open, and 17 on track to open in 2022. Like many other businesses, COVID temporarily slowed our ability to grow; however, we’re proud to have still opened eight clubs last year, with record-breaking presale performances further galvanising the energy around future opportunities.

The health club industry is worth $96.7bn and club memberships are on the rise. Although only 20 per cent of advanced markets worldwide hold a gym membership, Snap Fitness 24/7 is part of the success story as we have and continue to welcome record-breaking numbers of new memberships year-on-year with each new club opening. We continue to see ongoing growth as currently in the U.K., one in seven people have a gym membership and we appreciate the opportunity to infiltrate untapped markets and territories.

Our mission

Our mission is to create an inclusive, empathetic and supportive environment for all our members, irrespective of their level of experience. We are friendly, noncompetitive, for everybody and for everybody. This focus enables us to better speak to the larger portion of the unrealised market.

We strongly believe that collaboration is integral and work very closely with our franchisees as we understand that’s the key to success as we continuously evolve our Snap Fitness brand.

We partner with ambitious, service-orientated franchisees who share our mission and who want to be part of the growing health and wellness market. Our franchisees are forward thinkers who appreciate the commercial opportunity that results from helping people discover a lasting passion for an active lifestyle.

We give every franchisee all the necessary support to get started, grow, and thrive; providing all the tools they need to deliver a great service for members. Our established global network offers further access to a wealth of infrastructure and experience, enhanced by the business expertise and in-market knowledge offered by our regional support hubs. Every franchisee is guaranteed a robust support system from the very start – and at every stage of their journey with us.

#Oneteam

Our business is centred around a ‘One Team’ ethos expertly lead by an industry-leading team:

• Development, headed up by Bill Painter, focuses on finding new franchisees and supporting them – and existing franchisees – through the whole process of opening a club. We assist with business planning and financing, and the sourcing of properties in locations that will deliver the best return. We then provide each franchisee with club layout and equipment plans, the aesthetics design and a managed fit out process.

• Marketing, led by Sarah Townend, supports franchisees in driving awareness and lead generation across the pre-opening period and subsequent ongoing operation. The team supports new club openings and quarterly marketing campaigns, plans, and marketing assets that help to differentiate Snap Fitness from competitors. We also operate an in-house digital advertising service, that manages ads on behalf of franchisees. This helps us to continually improve campaign performance, but, when combined with club performance analysis, it provides valuable insights for franchisees on how they can maximise memberships sales performance.

• Club performance, headed up by Gary Linton-Walls, helps with getting the right team in place and ensures they get the training needed to help drive in leads and sales. Each franchise is allocated a franchise business manager with significant prior club management experience, who uses clubs’ data in real-time to provide ongoing guidance and support on how to maximise performance.

• Club Operations and Learning Development, led by Paul Stephenson, provides foundational systems as well as training to ensure our franchisee and club teams are empowered to maximise the results of their clubs. We’ve implemented a digital learning management system which provides continual access to training across all areas of club management, complemented by in-person training sessions.

Meaningful commercials

The Snap Fitness financial model has been designed to offer maximum returns, fast breakeven and the lowest investment possible. Our model doesn’t depend on large numbers of members to ensure a good financial return which enables focus on improving member retention and makes it easy for our franchisees to own a thriving fitness business.

There are two routes into the franchise, whether you’re planning to start with one site or have ambitions to open multiple sites we offer a fast return on investment, within as little as two to three years. Following successful expansion in the South East, we currently have opportunities available in Midlands, South West, South Coast and North East to name a few.

With our expert resources, an extremely engaged franchisee estate, and both member trends and new franchisee interest at an all-time high, we are hugely excited and perfectly placed for what’s to come in the next few years.

Should investing in the official Best Fitness Franchise be of interest to you, we would highly recommend and welcome you to join us at The British and International Franchise Exhibition at the Olympia, London on the 17th - 18th June 2022 for a meet and greet with Bill Painter, director of development.

At a glance

Established:

2003

Number of franchised outlets:

1000+ global, 81+ U.K. and Ireland

Location of units:

U.K., Ireland, U.S., E.M.E.A., and A.P.A.C.

Investment range:

£450,000 - £600,000

Minimum required capital:

£160,000

Contact:

Bill Painter, director of development