Following a previous funding round back in November 2012, London-based NRG GYM has raised new capital to help with its growth.
The chain, whose first health and fitness location was opened in Kent at the end of 2012, is now planning to launch three new sites. Shafiq Ahmed, founder and director of NRG, is hoping to have a 15-strong chain and 40,000 members by the end of 2015.
Of the £900,000 secured through its latest round, £420,000 has been sourced through Envestors, while £110,000 has come in the form of an Enterprise Finance Guarantee loan from The Royal Bank of Scotland and £380,000 from lease financing.
Tom Billings, investment director at Envestors and new non-executive director at NFG, comments, ‘Shafiq and his team have the right mix to attract health-conscious people young and old.
‘Gravesend opened with 1,000 members and at break-even, and within a month had 2,500 members.’
Billings adds that a further funding round is predicted to occur later in 2014 to finance the development of 15 sites.
Its first new opening will be in Watford during February, with two others following by July.
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Ahmed says, ‘With the health and fitness industry facing a considerable shake-up, NRG GYM is well placed to take advantage of members seeking to access affordable health and fitness for the first time, coupled with existing gym members looking for a better-value gym.’
Based in London, Envestors has facilitated the raising of funds worth £25 million for some 65 companies, predominately through the Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) incentive measure.
