Fitness firm presses ahead with expansion into third base

Firehouse Fitness is expanding to open its third state of the art gym in South Yorkshire.

The company, which was founded in 2013, has taken a 12,000 sq ft unit at Archer Road Retail Park in Millhouses in its first venture in the South West of Sheffield.

The gym, now kitted out with the highest specification equipment, is the latest addition to the firm’s Sheffield portfolio alongside its bases at Meadowbrook Park in Halfway and in Hillsborough.

A six-figure plus investment has seen the former PureGym site transformed into six exercise zones with the latest Covid restrictions allowing the 2,000 signed up members to get back into their fitness regimes.

Sheffield’s Wake Smith Solicitors acted for Firehouse Fitness on the lease of the building which sits on the retail park alongside other occupiers including Swim!, Bensons For Beds and Costa Coffee.

Managing director Shane Beard said: “This expansion comes when many leisure and retail businesses are reducing their estates.

“The lockdown has been incredibly tough both for our members and the 18-strong team at Firehouse Fitness and we were fully prepared to restart Covid-safe gym operations for those wanting to get back to their fitness routines.

“With our new location on a retail park, now substantially refurbished, we have an important role to play in helping to sustain the park as it adapts to new uses and by bringing a sense of normal life and healthy routine back into people’s lives.

“We can offer our training and classes to a fresh audience in Sheffield and we look forward to welcoming new members.”

The Millhouses site features six zones – Engine House for strength and conditioning and free weights; Drill Yard which is a large group functional HIIT training zone; Cardio zone with treadmills, bikes, stairmills; small group functional training zone; Spin Zone with 16 life fitness spin bikes, surround sound, LED effect lighting; and a 15 capacity yoga room.

Beard added: “Paul Gibbon at Wake Smith is so conscientious with his commercial property work and always has our best interests at heart.”

Gibbon, director in Wake Smith’s commercial property division, who advised on the lease, said: “As we see glimmers of normal life starting to return thanks to the Covid-19 vaccine roll-out, we were pleased to be involved in helping Firehouse Fitness take advantage of a new location and, in turn, access a whole new set of customers.

“Retail parks are proving ideal sites for locating a gym as they benefit from parking, flexibility and great signage, in what is clearly a difficult market for retailers currently.

“This is also a time when focusing on health and fitness has never been more important to so many people after a year of lockdowns.”