ThinCats, the leading alternative lender to mid-sized SMEs, has provided significant growth funding to fitness brand, OneGym, for the acquisition of new sites as the gym chain continues its impressive expansion across the North of England.
Founded by Paul and David Pearson, the business has grown from its original site in Bishop Auckland, to 11 operational gyms across the North East, making it one of the fastest-growing regional gym chains in the UK.
The business prides itself on its flexible low cost memberships which give access to all gyms at no extra cost. It’s unbeatable value for money in terms of the top of the line equipment and facilities.
In 2022, the business was backed with “Growth Capital” by family investment office, Middleton Enterprises, who have helped support OneGyms’ recent expansion adding 6 new sites to the chain in the last 18 months.
Further investment in the company’s infrastructure has seen the team grow to over 70 employees and new software has been implemented to identify the most suitable sites to build out best-in-class gym operations.
With this new funding in place, management is looking to acquire 3-4 sites per year, targeting units in the heart of local communities in the North, with several sites already in the pipeline and set to open in the coming months.
Ben Kimball led the funding team at ThinCats with Kat Man, Andrew Sanders and Brian Don. Ben Slack at Clarion Solicitors provided legal support for ThinCats and Louise Duffy, Muckle provided legals on behalf of OneGym. Carl Swansbury FCA at RGCF conducted financial due diligence.
OneGym’s co-founder, David Pearson, says: “ThinCats has a strong track record of supporting scaling businesses like ours and together with our partners Middleton Enterprises, we are well positioned to continue to acquire and build the best new gyms, delighting our growing membership across the North. Middleton’s ‘Growth Capital’ and this new growth funding line from ThinCats has given us the firepower and confidence to scale at pace.”
Ben Kimball, Senior Director, ThinCats commented: “We are delighted to be backing David, Paul and the wider team at OneGym. Their high value fitness proposition is taking the North East by storm and their gyms have become a real hub for the communities they operate in. It was a pleasure working with Middleton who are likeminded in their approach to funding, providing established businesses with long term patient capital and a solid platform from which to build. We are excited to be on this journey with them and look forward to supporting their expansion across the North of England.”
David Alprovich, COO of Middleton Enterprises, adds: “When we started on this journey with Paul and David, we were confident that OneGym was a brand that had huge growth potential. In the last 2 years the business has gone from strength to strength, opening numerous state-of-the-art gyms and building a strong reputation across the North East. To meet growing demand, we need to continue sourcing and opening new sites, so it was important to find a funding partner who could match our ambitions. Ben and the team at ThinCats understood the vision and provided funding that will enable us to accelerate our growth plans.