Gym chain fit for expansion with £4m investment

Puma Growth Partners has made a £4m investment into NRG Gyms, a gym group founded by entrepreneur Shafiq Ahmed.

Launched in 2013, the business has expanded over recent years to seven gyms and over 30,000 members across the UK in cities including London, Manchester, Newcastle, and Sheffield.

The funds will support NRG in continuing to expand its portfolio of gyms across the UK and the use of data and analytics to improve the member experience while creating a technology-led back-office infrastructure capable of allowing the business to scale at speed.

NRG has also recently strengthened its management team with the appointment of Neil Greenhalgh to its board as non-executive director.

Greenhalgh spent nearly 20 years at JD Sports, including five years as CFO. He was highly instrumental in devising and executing the strategy which saw the business grow from a small cap listed business with 330 stores across two countries, to a FTSE 100-listed global retailer. He played a central role in JD Sports opening its own gyms, as part of which he led the Xercise4Less gym chain acquisition process in 2020.

Shafiq Ahmed, founder and CEO of NRG Gyms, said: “It’s a testament to the success of the business and will allow us to continue to grow our member communities, develop our pipeline of new sites all whilst continually investing in the team, people development and infrastructure required to grow further.”

Henri Songeur, investment manager at Puma Growth Partners, added: “The strong management team and proven business model have positioned NRG as a formidable operator in a sector expected to be worth approximately £2.8 billion in 2025. The addition of Neil Greenhalgh further enhances the company’s capacity to establish itself as a leading provider of low-cost, high-value gym facilities.

“We look forward to working closely with Shafiq, and the wider team, to help realise their ambitions for the business going forwards.”