Verve works out fitness chain

A proposed chain of health clubs is preparing to launch, joining the burgeoning health and fitness sector. Fit For Life will open in Haywards Heath next February, with interior, exterior and literature by start-up group Verve.

Verve creative director Chris Simmons says the club aims to fill an opening in the market for a small and exclusive health centre. “Most clubs can seem large and impersonal or intimidating. Loads of people join them, then leave after three months,” he says.

Fit For Life will charge relatively high prices with a promise of exclusivity and high service standards. Every member will be given a personal headset with which to tune in to a selection of music or TV while exercising, and smart keys will ensure that their own workout details are entered into exercise machines.

The first Fit For Life will be in a 1930s auction room next to a train station, and will be called Fit For Life Train Station. A chain, centred around the M25, will roll out if successful, says Simmons.

Meanwhile, quoted fitness company Holmes Place is reported to have made a bid for rival group Pinnacle, which had been preparing to float.