Fitness Space was founded in 2010 by former Olympic athlete and World Championship finalist Tim Benjamin. Although a relative newcomer, it has tremendous potential for growth, making it a good opportunity for any investor looking to invest in a boutique fitness franchise. The brand has a broad focus and can accommodate members of any experience level to help them reach their full potential.
This means a Fitness Space franchise investment could be especially popular among your local community. Novices, in particular, can benefit from joining this gym, which gives you a unique selling point to capitalise on reluctance in the market, with around 56% of the UK population reporting they feel insecure about attending the gym.
In this article, we aim to highlight this brand as a potential investment, including the many benefits of ownership and general Fitness Space franchise requirements.
Benefits and Opportunities of Becoming a
Fitness Space franchise owner
Here are just some of the Fitness Space franchise opportunities and benefits you can enjoy:
• Boutique fitness model:
The boutique fitness sector is projected to grow 10.6% from 2021 to 2028. With the option of a boutique studio that matches current industry trends, you may be able to increase the return on your Fitness Space franchise investment up to 8 times faster than conventional gyms.
• Diverse services:
Fitness Space specialises in offering a broad range of unique needs, including yoga, personal training, and a special ‘fit camp’. Yoga in particular has grown in popularity by 49.72% in the past few years.
• Industry partners:
Fitness Space has access to a strategic partner network that can secure exclusive deals for owners looking to start their franchises. They can help you source premium equipment from Technogym for lower prices, for example, due to their close partnerships with suppliers and lenders.
• National marketing:
The franchisors help owners identify key performance indicators and build their marketing plan around this. With over a decade of success, the brand also offers a range of templates for Fitness Space marketing materials.
• Multi-site operation:
These gyms are easily scalable, open relatively soon after the acquisition, and are consistently profitable. These are the perfect conditions to become a multi-site owner; your experience from opening the first site will be invaluable.
How does the Fitness Space franchise model work?
You must account for certain considerations before owning a Fitness Space franchise, including:
1. Fitness Space franchise requirements
Here are the usual prerequisites for this franchise:
• Affordable investment:
The cost to buy and own a Fitness Space franchise is around £245,000; this can often depend upon your location but still represents a significant fee for owners.
• Owner involvement:
You can become an owner-operator or a hands-off investor. The latter lets you focus on other matters, but you should still check the franchise’s KPIs and profits each day.
• Adapting to new trends:
Owner-operators should be able to administer changes to the Fitness Space formula. For example, DNA testing is a relatively recent innovation that the brand offers; you must always work to stay relevant.
• On-site training:
The week-long mandatory training includes information about membership, sales, equipment, recruitment, and secondary spend opportunities. A business development manager also oversees your leadership for the first three months.
• Business planning session:
You must also attend a business planning session, where the brand’s financial partners help you put together a business plan, ensuring your gym is optimised for success.
• Choice of sites for key positioning:
Choose from a range of sites measuring 2,000 – 4,000 sq. ft. This allows you to position yourself in key high-street locations to capitalise on office workers and commuters and means typically lower costs than bigger sites.
2. Minimum cost/investment to buy and own a Fitness Space franchise
The usual Fitness Space franchise cost is around £245,000, with a £29,950 licensing fee and a £5,000 deposit to secure a location. The brand’s preferred lenders provide a tailored financial package – with the franchisors also helping to create a business plan that matches your budget.
3. Initial Fitness Space franchise startup fees
The Fitness Space startup fee is £24,950 without VAT and exclusively covers your right to use the brand name.
4. Expected Fitness Space franchise revenue
Though details on the exact revenue are unclear and vary significantly from one gym to another, you will likely have 300 members paying monthly, which generates a rough total of £27,500. Additional secondary spend can boost this even further through merchandising.
5. Costs associated with running a Fitness Space franchise
As Fitness Space operates for 15 hours a day, equipment use alone could cost up to £26,500; bigger gyms with more machines consume more electricity and have higher long-term fees. Overall operating costs could be up to £315,065 depending on studio size. The royalty fee is 8% of your franchise’s monthly gross – notably higher than the industry-wide average of 6%.
6. Predicted average income/profit of a Fitness Space franchise owner
This brand offers higher profits per square footage, with a 2,000 square feet franchise likely to make a profit of £78,152. In contrast, a 4,000 square feet studio could make a profit up to £216,516. The latter incurs £399,740 of annual expenses on average, with £616,256 of total franchise owner sales. For 3,000 square feet gyms, your profit would be roughly £146,078.
A look at the Fitness Space franchise agreement
& policies – main points
The most important points of a Fitness Space franchise agreement include:
1. Site selection
Fitness Space works with commercial property consultants to find an affordable site. Owners maintain control throughout the decision-making process, and a business development manager helps you figure out the gym’s layout and equipment. This includes going over detailed computer-aided designs of the final studio.
2. Financial assistance
The brand’s aforementioned financial package takes your budget and requirements into consideration, uniting you with an affiliated lender. Fitness Space staff account for this when helping you design a plan that suits your budget, optimising your approach to ensure the greatest chance of success to raise capital for your franchise.
3. Training
Training is another key component of the brand’s promise to owners. In addition to the aforementioned week-long course, your fitness coaches must also attend a week-long Technogym module that explains how to use their equipment. Managers and coaches must attend monthly continuous personal development sessions.
4. Marketing
The brand’s pre-sales marketing assistance covers a comprehensive activity and marketing schedule that helps ensure a successful launch. Fitness Space advises franchise owners on how to accurately and consistently represent the company via physical and digital assets in ways that maximise prospect conversion.
5. Technology use
The franchise agreement also includes information on the brand’s use of technology – such as the Fitness Space app, website, intranet and a customer relationship management system. This ensures owners know how to integrate this with their gym’s services, including by regularly updating the studio’s unique sub-website.
What are the franchise terms of agreement
and renewal for your Fitness Space?
While there is limited information on the terms of franchise agreement and renewal for a Fitness Space gym, the sector-wide average for these contracts is five years. Boutique studios sometimes require a ten-year contract in order to ensure that franchisees remain committed long after the gym becomes profitable.
After this period, owners can decide to renew their contract for another five or ten years, or return their franchise to Fitness Space, who sell the studio to a new owner-operator.
Is Fitness Space a good fit for you?
Here are the main points you must consider before becoming a Fitness Space franchisee:
1. The target market of the average Fitness Space franchise
Fitness Space offers a vast range of services in a boutique or traditional gym format – this means members are likely to come from diverse backgrounds in terms of age and experience. The most common memberships can cost £30-£50 per month, also making these gyms affordable for low-income exercisers.
2. Is a Fitness Space fitness franchise right for your chosen location?
When opening your franchise, you might choose an area that broadly represents all age groups, especially as Fitness Space’s callanetics and Pilates services are targeted to older members. The company recommends you select a high street location – their affordable prices are also good for low-income or competition-rich areas, as 40% of people without a gym membership cite cost as a reason.
3. Other factors to consider when deciding whether owning a Fitness Space franchise is right for you
The Fitness Space franchise cost is higher than most boutiques, so you must decide if this is worth the eventual high profits. Many brands (including GYMGUYZ and Jetts) require 6% of your monthly gross, while Fitness Space asks for 8%; you must consider if this is worthwhile.
Are you a good fit for the Fitness Space franchise?
As the owner of a Fitness Space franchise, you must be able to positively and passionately represent the brand as well as its many services. If you cannot do this, you might not be a good fit for these gyms; the drive to help people achieve their fitness goals is effectively a requirement.
You must also consider if you can devote ample time to the Fitness Space franchise brand. Even a semi-absentee owner must check in each day – making this a franchise that requires a significant amount of involvement.
Process of taking a Fitness
Space franchise
The usual steps you should follow to open a Fitness Space franchise are:
1. Applying for Fitness Space
Your first step for opening a studio under this brand is to assess the benefits you would receive – as well as the typical cost to open a Fitness Space franchise. If you’re sure that Fitness Space is the best franchise choice for you, get in touch with the brand’s Bracknell office with your proposal.
2. Plan the gym
If there are any Fitness Space franchise opportunities in your area that the brand team can identify, they will find the best location available and gain D2 planning permission. They will also help you create and optimise a business plan that accounts for your budget while connecting you with Fitness Space’s own financial partners.
3. Pay for the franchise
At this stage, you will pay the initial £5,000 deposit to secure the preliminary location and the franchise startup cost of £24,950. The brand will also finalise the funding quotations for their support and equipment, which will eventually come to a total of around £245,000 for a medium (3,000 square feet) studio.
4. Finish preparations
Attend the week-long Fitness Space training course at their headquarters to learn how to recruit staff, use this brand’s software and equipment, and arrange memberships. Begin recruiting fitness coaches and potentially a general manager through typical job listing channels. These hires must attend a week-long Technogym session to understand their equipment before the studio opens.
Conclusion
It could definitely be worth looking into a Fitness Space franchise for sale; this may even help you secure a net profit of up to £216,516. Moderate membership prices, in combination with the broad appeal of its many gym services, ensure that the average income of a Fitness Space franchise owner is high.
Even if you’re a first-time gym owner, you could still lead a successful business – especially with the brand’s training. This grants you the tools and confidence you need to surpass any obstacle and guarantee your gym has a thriving membership.
FAQs
1. How to start a Fitness Space franchise
• Contact the Fitness Space executive team with your proposal.
• Work alongside them to put together a detailed business plan.
• Find a site that suits your needs and pay the £5,000 deposit.
• Pay the other relevant costs to access the company’s support.
• Attend the week-long franchisee training module in Bracknell.
• Hire fitness coaches who attend a Technogym training course.
• Open the gym and start to accept new Fitness Space members.
2. How much does owning a Fitness Space franchise cost?
Owning a franchise under this brand can cost over £245,000 depending on the size of studio you’re looking for; long-term costs can also form a significant expense. Beyond the Fitness Space franchise fee, these may add up to between £229,975 and £399,740 per year; though your total sales should eclipse this.
3. Is a Fitness Space franchise profitable?
You can make a profit on your gym in just a couple of years; a Fitness Space franchise owner’s average profit is up to £216,516 after this period. This is a particularly profitable brand and you could consider taking advantage of the innovative fitness boutique model to boost your returns even further.
4. What questions to ask when buying a Fitness Space franchise?
You may want to ask the franchisor about the estimated income of a Fitness Space owner, as well as how staff requirements scale with the gym’s size. Boutiques generally have very low staff needs due to their small space and class sizes, so this could be another reason to choose a boutique model.
