interview
cent from outside, mostly through word of mouth. And it’s very successful. It turned over about £1.6m last year. “That means there’s enough business
coming through the doors that practitioners are happy to cross-refer to each other, plus we have referrals both ways between personal trainers and the medical centre. And that’s quite a big step for our industry, because people normally tend to claim they can do everything. But being willing to pass a client on to someone who’s a real expert in their fi eld is in the best interests of the customer and is a philosophy we certainly encourage. “We’re also signing an agreement
with the Royal British Legion, our nominated charity, to provide rehab services for injured servicemen, as well as fundraising for them and even providing work placements at the club for those leaving the forces. “The concept of integrating health and
fi tness is in the name of most clubs, but it’s actually a reality with us.”
new ventures Dunmore now plans to roll out more Third Space clubs across London.
“I’d like to be in Chelsea and maybe somewhere in the City, although that’s a hard environment. Clapham would be great, and perhaps London Bridge. Even Richmond or Greenwich in due course. When we launched the management buyout, the backing was for a ‘five clubs in five years’ plan. The recession affected
30
everybody, ourselves included, so in my mind that five-year plan starts now. “There’s plenty of opportunity in
London and that will be my focus – I don’t know cities like Manchester or Birmingham well enough to expand there. However, if we can make the concept work across a number of locations in the capital, it may be that we consider rolling out elsewhere through partnership deals in the longer term.” For now, the second Third Space site
is under construction in the Marylebone area of London. Due to open in spring 2011, it’s a 1,350sq m (14,500sq ft) location in the Marylebone Hotel. “The owners had recently spent
£37m refi tting the hotel and wanted to upgrade the gym, which was run by Virgin Active – a former Holmes Place club. We were approached by the owners and, based on our designs, they awarded us a 15-year lease. “We’re retaining the pool but
everything else is being gutted. Marylebone has more of a village feel to it than Soho, so the fi nish at the new club might be softer, but design- wise it will have some similar features to the Soho club: open plan, with no corridors and an open stairwell so you can see everything that’s going on around the club – I think that encourages people to try new things. “We’re also putting in a Retro Gym.
I don’t want to give too much away at this stage, but it fi ts in with fi tness’ current trend towards using body
Read Health Club Management online at
healthclubmanagement.co.uk/digital
The club offers clear lines of sight throughout, meaning members can see everything that’s going on and encouraging them to try new things
weight as much as possible and is designed to be a bit of fun. It’ll be almost like an old-style school gym, where the circuit training approach actually included some pretty effective exercises. “We aren’t having a medical centre
in Marylebone but, to add to our product range, we’re going to put in a spa, which we’re calling The Third Spa: three treatment rooms, two of which will be wet rooms, plus a separate manicure area and possibly also a spray tan area. We’ll also offer our own Third Spa signature treatments, which we’re currently working on. This spa offering was key to the hotel. “Ultimately we’re there because
the hotel has invited us, and it’s fundamental to the relationship that we treat their guests absolutely as our own members. But we’ll also be selling memberships and our Soho members will be able to use the new club too. “I know spa is quite a crowded sector,
but I’ve been to a lot of spas in the last nine months and the customer experience really could be better. I think all too often it’s focused on how soft the towel is, or how many candles there are, rather than on how good the treatment is.
november/december 2010 © cybertrek 2010
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