Cover Story A new lease of life


Educator-turned-entrepreneur Onur Saliah explains how his Anytime Fitness franchise went to the top of the class


INVESTMENT LEVEL: FROM £110,000 D


uring a decade-long career at the sharp end of secondary school teaching, Onur Saliah developed a discerning eye for judging the quality of his


pupils’ work. A talented teacher as well as a head of year and assistant head, the geography specialist became a master of marking before deciding to swap education for exercise by opening his own Anytime Fitness club. Given his professional pedigree in


providing reliable ratings, Onur’s gold-star assessment of his new business venture is especially impressive. “Anytime Fitness has been absolutely brilliant and I couldn’t ask for more,” he said from the vibrant setting of his club in Harlow. “It has done everything it said it was going to do, the model has worked as promised, and the break-even points and money generated have all been accurate. I would give Anytime Fitness 10 out of 10.”


Anytime Fitness franchisee Onur Saliah


14 | BusinessFranchise.com | November 2016


Masterful model Although Onur’s professional path had led him into the world of teaching, he was a dedicated gym-goer and admits to having had designs on running his own fitness facility for some time. He sat up and took notice when Anytime Fitness burst onto the scene in the UK, but it wasn’t until 2013 that Onur, along with his two brothers, decided to do something about his desire. At that point, Anytime Fitness’s healthy business model made it an obvious choice. “I had always wanted to open a gym,” he said. “Even prior to becoming a teacher I was keen on training and fitness. “What drew us to Anytime Fitness was the fact that the model seemed very straightforward and achievable, and the idea of opening a gym that wouldn’t need thousands of members in order to be profitable was attractive. “We were also drawn in by the low cost of operations. Some gyms need 20 members of staff in order to keep going, but Anytime Fitness’s model means that


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