24-hour gym changes hands in Notts town

Michael and Julie Taylor

Round-the-clock fitness is making a comeback in a Nottinghamshire town after franchise specialists snapped up Anytime Fitness Newark, which closed its doors earlier this year.

Franchise Resales has teamed up with two existing Anytime Fitness franchisees in the south of England and is gearing up to breathe new life into the former Anytime club in Newark, which closed in February.

Plans have been revealed to re-open the Castle Gate Centre premises to its 800-plus members on January 4 – pandemic restrictions permitting. The move will create several full-time and part-time positions.

Franchise Resales, which is based in Leadenham, Lincolnshire, has a long association with the Anytime Fitness brand, having sold many of its UK franchises.

Now it has gone into partnership with Davinder Johal (Bobby) and Gok Arabaci, who own several clubs in the south of England and who were interested in the East Midlands site – on the basis of investing alongside Franchise Resales.

Franchise Resales director Julie Taylor, who is running the new venture with her son Michael, said: “Anytime Fitness is a leading brand in the health and fitness sector and already has over 170 independently owned clubs across the UK and Ireland and close to 5,000 sites worldwide.

“Over the past six to eight years, we have sold a lot of its franchises, including three solely owned by Bobby and Gok. I already had a potential purchaser for the Newark gym, but they stepped back, so we were thrilled when it left us with the opportunity to team-up with Bobby and Gok to partly-own and manage it ourselves.

“Since getting the keys to the Castle Gate Centre premises, we have been deep cleaning and redecorating them to ensure they will be Covid-19 safe for former and new gym users when we open in the New Year.”

“On the jobs front, staff recruitment is underway, thanks to the creation of new posts for an assistant manager, a sales membership adviser, cleaner, PT instructors and an apprentice,” added Taylor,

An Anytime Fitness UK spokesperson said: “At such a challenging time for everyone, we’re proud to oversee the opening of a locally owned business in Newark. It was disappointing that the club had to close in February but we’re understandably delighted that it will be able to reopen under new ownership next year. People’s physical health is more important than ever at the moment and we’re sure the team will do a great job in proudly serving the local Newark community.”

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