STRONG Pilates – the innovative Pilates-inspired, cardio-infused fitness franchise born out of Australia – has announced network sales of £10.8million as London-based UK managing director and former Australian cricketer John Hastings, 37, targets 11 new UK fitness studios by March.
The long-term ambition is to bring over 100 studios to the UK.
The news comes as STRONG Pilates opens its second UK studio in Leicester, with plans for Fulham, Putney, Wimbledon, Market Harborough, Exeter, Brighton, Dublin, Belfast, West Bridgford and Mayfair to follow, and in excess of 20 locations reserved as John expects to see STRONG Pilates UK replicate impressive YoY growth of 350 per cent seen for the franchise in its native Australia.
Founded as recently as 2019, STRONG Pilates has already garnered over 8,000 members globally including some 200+ at its recently opened UK-first Islington studio, but with over 12 million people practising Pilates in the UK, and with HIIT training also experiencing a boom, John recognises STRONG Pilates’ huge UK growth potential.
John, who was one of the first to own a STRONG Pilates franchise in Australia, said: “The concept is the first-of-its-kind, and uses a patented ‘Rowformer’ machine – part Pilates reformer, part rowing machine, to provide a full-body workout that combines high-intensity with low-impact, controlled strength training – which the UK market has been crying out for.
“It’s incredibly exciting to be opening our second UK studio in Leicester, and I’ve always been a big advocate for reformer, particularly while I was playing international cricket. You see the toll it takes with Ben Stokes a perfect example of that, and I personally, always turned to Pilates as both an injury prevention and recovery tool.”
While STRONG Pilates now has in excess of 50 studios open across Australasia, also having recently introduced a ‘ride’, bike element across studios, the concept was founded by Australian duo Michael Ramsey and Mark Armstrong, previously successful F45 franchise owners, who acknowledged a different fitness method driving the evolution of the fitness sector.