Virgin active press feed

And the winners are...

Mon, 30 Apr 2012 09:51:00 +0100

The award winners of the first ever Body Confidence Awards were announced 19TH April at the Houses of Parliament. The event which was held under the auspices of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Body Image which Central YMCA co-ordinates was a celebration of the winners’ inspirational and deserving efforts to promote body confidence, diversity and the acceptance of broader beauty ideals.

Attendees included representatives from industry, the voluntary sector, media, celebrities and the worlds of fashion and fitness.

Rosi Prescott, Chief Executive of Central YMCA who attended the awards said: “We’re delighted that these awards are taking place and it demonstrates how aware organisations are of body confidence issues and recognises good work in this area. Central YMCA has been at the vanguard in pushing this agenda forward and it is encouraging to see how different sectors are taking action to address body image issues.”

Central YMCA’s Sports, Health and Fitness Award was won by Virgin Active for their fantastic “oomph” campaign which emphasised the many benefits of exercise, not just achieving the body beautiful and in using diversity in their advertising.”

Steve Dick, Sales and Marketing Director at Virgin Active adds; "We are thrilled that Virgin Active's Oomph campaign has been recognised by these awards. One of our core beliefs is that the health club industry should be inclusive no matter what gender, age or level of fitness. We pride ourselves on offering something for everyone at the clubs and outside at events such as the Virgin Active London Triathlon."

Jo Swinson MP and Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Body Image said: “The Body Confidence Awards were established to recognise best practice within industries and we are delighted that Virgin Active’s “oomph” campaign has won the Central YMCA award for sports, exercise and fitness. Research from Central YMCA shows that 2 in 3 people think gyms are intimidating and they need to do more to attract people of different shapes and sizes. Virgin Active’s “oomph” campaign is a brilliant example of how to tackle this by using real people and promoting the intrinsic benefits of exercise.”

The award categories and winners included the following:

Advertising: ‘Growing up’ by Dove – for communicating the 2012 campaign for Dove Self Esteem Programme whereby Dove brings self-esteem education to girls in the UK.

Beauty: Boots No7 ‘Ta Dah’ range – for their decision to eschew retouching for their Ta Dah range and for celebrating the idea of real women

Broadcast/Print/Publishing: Caitlin Moran for How to be a Woman – the book that argues for more diversity in society’s ideals of what a beautiful and successful women should be

Campaigner:Changing Faces – for their fight to change public attitudes for people with disfigurements and their ongoing support for those with disfigurements and their families

Central YMCA Health, Sport and Fitness Award; Virgin Active’s Oomph campaign – for the marketing campaign that used a range of shapes, ages, sizes and ethnic diversity in the advertising and pushed the more extrinsic benefits of being physically active

Education: Body Image in the Primary School by Nicky Hutchinson and Chris Calland – for their

All Walks Beyond the Catwalk Fashion Award: Mark Fast – for his use of diverse models on the catwalk and the design of clothing that celebrates women

Retail: Debenhams – for their ongoing Inclusivity Campaign that celebrates and showcases imagery that is both inspirational and realistic to modern day British women.

Mumsnet Award for promoting body confidence in children: Pink Stinks – decided by the votes of Mumsnet members.

Celebrity Ambassador of the Year Award: Davina McCall – decided by public votes

ENDS

Virgin Active predicts 2012 fitness trends

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 00:00:00 Z

The experts at Virgin Active the UK’s leading health club operator have used industry insights to predict the UK’s fitness trends for 2012.

Tim Foster, Virgin Active’s head of fitness predicts that fitness trends in 2012 will be lead by the latest government guidelines for shorter duration, higher intensity workouts, “At Virgin Active we have recognised the physical benefits of shorter duration workouts since the introduction of Fast Classes (20 minute instructor-led intensive sessions on the gym floor) several years ago. Fast Classes are popular with members who enjoy coming to the club but are looking for an effective whole body workout in a short space of time, before picking the children up from school, meeting friends for a drink or rushing back to work from lunch.”

2012 will see the introduction of 30 minute studio classes at Virgin Active clubs. These will fit well into most people’s busy schedules and will be designed for effectiveness in burning more calories and fat in a shorter space of time. Tim Foster highlights that this is not an ‘easy’ option, “the challenge for people will be that the workout will be tougher. We all know you don’t get results without putting the effort in.

Training needs to be enjoyable and impactful; people need to see results in order to stay motivated so our fitness professionals will be pushing members to work harder in these sessions.” The Virgin Active experts have recognised that this form of workout increases both aerobic and anaerobic fitness, meaning that metabolism is increased, even at rest, giving better results long after the workout has finished.

The world of fitness will move online, in tune with all other areas of modern life. In 2012, people will have much more access to online goal setting, tracking and competing. This will enable people to see more evidence of results from their training. Another clear way of tracking progress and increasing motivation is with full biometric and body composition testing. The scales are misleading in tracking performance in health and fitness. Full body composition testing will track percentage body fat and muscle changes.

Tim Foster explains what Virgin Active will be doing to help members stay focused on their goals, “We will be educating all of our gym floor fitness coaches to guide members towards achieving goals; they will help members achieve an end goal, by coaching, motivating, guiding and reviewing. The trend for more goal focused workouts will compliment the access to online tracking. People will be able to compete against themselves or their peers. Training should always be progressive and never stagnant. Driving our members online to record their progress will ensure constant motivation and achievement.”

Tim continues “Never before in our history have we invested so much resource into the education of our Fitness Coaches, ensuring they set appropriate goals for our members and that they create truly personalised programmes to help get our members to their chosen goal. We’re also allocating huge training resource to help our Fitness Coaches motivate and encourage our members whilst they are at the club – we call it Oomphing and it’s having a huge impact on our gym floors.

Industry experts at Virgin Active have seen trends in group exercise rotate full circle. The 80s approach of freestyle aerobics developed into a rigid exercise structure into the 1990s. Class attendees became familiar and therefore comfortable with a specific style but in the last year, classes such as Zumba® fitness have led people into a less structured group exercise format. Less structure allows instructors to interpret their own style and participants to have more fun, lowering barriers to entry and making group exercise more accessible. The growth of social networking, allows instructors to have instant feedback on their classes in groups and forums, making group exercise much more interactive rather than a one way conversation from an instructor at the front of a class.

Gillian Reeves, Virgin Active’s national group exercise manager, comments, “Incredibly, the trends for group exercise have very much been led by the hugely popular Zumba Fitness. The Zumba philosophy of fun with fitness as an additional benefit fits wholly with Virgin Active’s goals and works perfectly for our members. This has led to there being more dance classes than ever on offer to our members. People are looking for a community in their group exercise class, which drives a social environment in the classes and the clubs in general.”

“Fusion will emerge as a trend in group exercise in 2012. We witnessed the beginnings of this in 2011 with classes such as Krank Fusion (Kranking and Spinning) and martial arts with dance classes. The style of class is set to grow even further next year.”

As the 2012 Olympics approach, people are naturally starting to think about athletic fitness. Virgin Active will be working with a very high profile British athlete to create classes for members that will be made up of athletics based drills, designed to focus on speed, agility and quickness (SAQ) in both a 20 minute Fast Class format and 30 minute studio class. The classes will be inspired by professional athlete training and include plyometrics that fire up muscle fibres in order to create maximum impact from movement.
Inspired by the Olympics, people are looking for more excitement and variety from their fitness, this leads to more innovation. Virgin Active, as the UK’s most innovative health club will be looking to excite members with the introduction of the TRX Riptrainer, Aqua Zumba®, mind and body inspired suspension training and the nationwide rollout of willPower & grace®.

TRX Riptrainer
TRX Riptrainer is a piece of kit that provides a total body workout emphasising rotational power and high velocity movements. A baton shaped object that is attached to a frame, challenges the core muscles with varying levels of resistance. The kit can provide hundreds of different sport based exercises. Whilst most traditional weight training and resistance tools employ a single plane of motion, TRX Riptrainer mimics the real world 3D range of motions and rotations commonly found in sport and everyday life, offering a total body workout in just 20 minutes.

The kit consists of a 12 foot long ‘sports cord’ attached to a double handed pole which is anchored to a secure surface. The users move the pole in a multitude of three dimensional directions and planes that require the use of muscles throughout the legs, core and upper body to help maintain an upright, balanced posture.

Aqua Zumba®
Virgin Active will be taking the global success of Zumba classes into their swimming pools with Aqua Zumba. Gillian Reeves believes that Aqua Zumba will take aqua aerobics into a new area of fitness, “Aqua Zumba takes the energy, excitement and fun of a Zumba class into the swimming pool. The classes are out of the studio but the instructors are Zumba-trained and the participants will come along for fun with fitness as additional benefit! The classes are refreshing, dynamic and exhilarating and the Latin and international music transports participants, far away to somewhere exotic and exciting. The beginning of 2012 will see people escaping the winter blues with an injection of various forms of Zumba classes, Aqua Zumba being the latest for Virgin Active.”

Mind and body inspired suspension training
Virgin Active will be offering their members a mind and body inspired suspension training exercise class that involves hammock-like swings hanging from a studio ceiling. The swing supports parts of the body, allowing the participant to carry out strength and flexibility training in an interesting and unique way.

willPower & grace®
willPower & grace is a barefoot, cardiovascular high-energy group exercise class that involves a formatted fusion of postures and drills. Both a foot-fitness conditioning program and a workout, it is as philosophical as it is physical. The class, set to high energy music, integrates barefoot training methods designed to strengthen feet while progressively correcting imbalances in the ankles, knees and hips.

The willPower & grace® programme teaches participants to stretch their toes in order to increase circulation and mobility throughout their feet and ankles. In the class, participants are taught to use their most intrinsic muscles to land on their feet gracefully; reducing pain and injuries in their feet, ankles and knees. Virgin Active will be launching the extremely successful US based class in 2012 to clubs nationwide.

Things are getting wet and wild at Virgin Active, thanks to Zumba® Fitness

Thu, 24 Nov 2011 19:03:00 Z

Leading health club, Virgin Active is proud to announce that from November, there will be Aqua Zumba classes in over 24 of their clubs nationwide.

Zumba Fitness’ revolutionary pool based class, Aqua Zumba, takes the high energy and fun of a traditional studio Zumba® class into a swimming pool. The world music and high energy moves led by a charismatic Zumba® instructor creates an atmosphere more reminiscent of a Miami pool party.

The unparalleled success of the Latin and international music sensation, Zumba classes, have left fans asking what is next from Zumba Fitness, and Virgin Active has the answer. Virgin Active’s national group exercise manager, Gillian Reeves comments, "Following the success of Zumba classes at Virgin Active, we knew that we wanted to bring Aqua Zumba to our members. The classes bring a whole new aspect to the aqua group exercise class arena. The classes are energetic, fun and dynamic and we predict that the classes will be a huge trend in 2012."

As with Zumba classes, Aqua Zumba classes are between 45 minutes and one hour long. The instructor who is qualified as both a Zumba instructor and an ‘Aqua’ instructor presents the class from pool-side, directing the movements to the increasingly popular Zumba® music. The class combines Salsa, Merengue, Cumbia, Reggeton and other rhythms, whilst using the water’s resistance for an effective and invigorating workout. As always the aim of the class is to have fun and getting fit is an additional bonus!

Bare your soul at Virgin Active

Tue, 04 Oct 2011 13:27:00 +0100

Virgin Active launches willPower & grace®, an innovative barefoot group exercise class from the US.

The UK’s most innovative health club, once again brings its members the latest in health and fitness innovation. willPower & grace®, a barefoot group exercise class, exclusively in Virgin Active clubs, which is set to revolutionise the fitness industry.

The class, called willPower & grace® was created by fitness professional of over 20 years, Stacey Lei Krauss in 1999 in New York City. It is a barefoot, cardiovascular high-energy group exercise class that involves a formatted fusion of postures and drills. Both a foot-fitness conditioning program and a workout, it is as philosophical as it is physical. The class, set to high energy music, integrates barefoot training methods designed to strengthen feet while progressively correcting imbalances in the ankles, knees and hips.

Gillian Reeves, Virgin Active’s national group exercise manager comments, “willPower & grace® is a unique and innovative group exercise class that will enable Virgin Active to offer its members even more variety in their active lifestyle.”

Barefoot training has seen a recent surge in popularity as experts recognise that supportive shoes do not allow full articulation of the feet and ankles which can lead to a loss of flexibility and mobility. The willPower & grace® programme teaches participants to stretch their toes in order to increase circulation and mobility throughout their feet and ankles. In the class, participants are taught to use their most intrinsic muscles to land on their feet gracefully; reducing pain and injuries in their feet, ankles and knees.

Already a huge success in the US, willPower & grace® has hundreds of trained instructors nationwide. The class launched exclusively in selected Virgin Active clubs in April 2011.

Virgin Active Kranks it up with fusion classes

Mon, 03 Oct 2011 05:00:00 +0100

Virgin Active launches Krank Fusion – a dynamic and effective combination workout

Following the successful launch of innovative new equipment, the KRANKcycle, in 2010, Virgin Active Health Clubs is launching Krank Fusion a revolutionary combination of the well known Spinning® class and Kranking®.

Kranking® involves pedalling with your arms, turning two rotating handles separately or together in either a standing or seated position. Resistance can be increased to give your body a harder workout in a similar way to spinning. Kranking® targets muscles in the arms, shoulders, chest and back while the core muscles work hard to stabilise the body, giving you a workout from the waist up.

The Krank Fusion class will take place on the gym floor with four KRANKcycles, four spin bikes and up to eight people. This dynamic workout is 20 – 30 minutes long and participants alternate between a KRANKcycle and a Spinning bike, achieving a calorie-blasting, conditioning workout for both the upper and lower body. Blood is shunted between the upper and lower body during the workout which means the cardiovascular benefits are increased, whilst high levels of muscle activation ensure that muscle toning and conditioning benefits are maximised. The format of the class makes the cardio system work harder and focuses on short duration, high intensity training.

There is no hiding at the back of this class; in select locations, Virgin Active will be pushing members to the max by tracking their heart rate throughout the class. This will enable participants to check that they are working out at just the right level to get optimal results, therefore making the most out of their workout.

Virgin Active’s head of fitness experience, Tim Foster, emphasises the benefits of ‘fusion’ classes, “By fusing different exercise programmes and styles, participants can achieve results across a combination of muscles groups and areas in a short space of time. In the Krank Fusion class, participants can work out both the upper and lower body effectively in a 20 minute session. Fusion classes and shorter duration, higher intensity workouts are emerging fitness trends and are set to grow in popularity during the second half of this year and into 2012.”

Virgin Active Acquires Esporta

Wed, 31 Aug 2011 00:00:00 +0100

The Esporta business operates 35 health and fitness clubs and 20 racquet clubs in the UK and has 159,000 members. The transaction is conditional on obtaining competition approval (which we fully expect to be granted) and consequently we hope to complete the acquisition in early July. The enlarged business will then have 124 clubs in the UK, in addition to Virgin Active’s clubs in Italy, Spain, Portugal and South Africa.

This is great news for Virgin Active and our members. Not only will we have a much wider spread of clubs around the UK, but it also means that we can offer a wider range of activities in our clubs including indoor and outdoor tennis, squash, badminton and outdoor swimming.

Virgin Active 2010 Financial Results and Esporta Aquisition

Tue, 09 Aug 2011 15:04:00 +0100

Strong growth in revenue and earnings
Acquisition of Esporta’s UK Business for up to £77.6 million

Milton Keynes, 26 April 2011:

Leading international health club operator, Virgin Active, today announces summary results for the 12 months ended 31 December 2010.

12 months ended 31 Dec 2010 Revenue £445.2m

12 months ended 31 Dec 2009 Revenue £391.0m

Change +14%

12 months ended 31 Dec 2010 EBITDA £114.6m

12 months ended 31 Dec 2009 EBITDA £101.1m

Change +13%

12 months ended 31 Dec 2010 EBITDA margin 26%

12 months ended 31 Dec 2009 EBITDAmargin 26%

Change -

12 months ended 31 Dec 2010 No. of members 975,000

12 months ended 31 Dec 2009 No. of members 919,000

Change +6%

12 months ended 31 Dec 2010 No. of clubs 194

12 months ended 31 Dec 2009 No. of clubs 187

Change +4%

2010 Financial Highlights (Audited)

Positive contribution from all four territories to Group revenue growth of 14%; like-for-like revenue growth of 9%

EBITDA increased by 13% from £101.1m to £114.6m, and by 9% on a like-for-like basis from £103.6m to £113m

The business invested £34.3m (2009: £29.3m) in capital expenditure to further improve our club offering, guided by our members feedback gained from c.25,000 calls to members every month

Membership grew by 6% to 975,000 members

The Group opened seven new clubs in 2010 in South Africa, Italy and Iberia (2009: 10 club openings). Lease agreements have been secured for a further 17 clubs to open in 2011

The business has had an encouraging start to the current year, with first quarter trading positive on a like-for-like basis and total membership passing the 1 million mark

Acquisition

The Group announced today that it has signed an agreement to acquire Esporta's UK business of 55 health clubs and 159,000 members for a total consideration of up to £77.6 million.

Commenting, Richard Baker, Chairman of Virgin Active said:

“The company is pleased to report another strong set of results, in the face of tough economic conditions. Our strategy of engaging great people to deliver a high quality experience to our members has once again delivered for our shareholders. The exciting acquisition of the Esporta clubs will enable us to accelerate our growth plans in the UK.”

Commenting, Matthew Bucknall, Chief Executive of Virgin Active said:

“I am pleased to announce our 11th consecutive year of revenue and profit growth. This performance demonstrates the resilience of health club demand and the importance our members continue to place on health and fitness. We have been able to sustain this growth over the last 3 years when economic conditions have been difficult and we continue to see excellent prospects for future growth in all our territories. This is testament to the quality of our people, the strength of our offer and the diversity of our international presence. I would like to extend my thanks and appreciation to our people for their commitment in delivering our vision and values as well as to our members for their ongoing support.

The acquisition of Esporta follows our takeover of Holmes Place almost 5 years ago, which was a transformational and highly successful deal that allowed Virgin Active to establish a strong footprint in London. The location of Esporta’s clubs is an excellent fit with this estate and significantly strengthens our business. The acquisition broadens our product offering and demonstrates our willingness and ability to lead consolidation in the market.

Virgin Active's strong organic growth story, evidenced by the new clubs we are opening in Italy, Iberia and South Africa, combined with the benefits the Esporta acquisition will bring, means that we are well positioned to make significant progress in the years ahead."

For further information please contact: Financial Dynamics: Ben Foster + 44 7776 240 806 Charlie Armitstead + 44 7703 330 269

Overview

2010 saw Virgin Active deliver 14% revenue and 13% EBITDA growth and 9% revenue and EBITDA growth on a like-for-like basis. This result has been achieved against the backdrop of a challenging economic environment in all of our territories. This performance underscores the strength of our business model and strategy.

Virgin Active’s success has been built on a strategy that focuses on four key success factors:

People – Our people are core to our business. We value and invest in our people to ensure that we attract and retain the most talented people who are passionate about what they do.

Service – We place great emphasis on understanding our members. Our ability to build our product around our members’ needs supported by passionate employees and one of the world’s most recognisable global brands enables us to differentiate our proposition from our competitors.

Value – We offer outstanding value for money to our members by providing comprehensive multi-use facilities at competitive prices.

Location – Our clubs are situated in large catchments where we know the demand will support building large facilities.

We opened a further 7 clubs in 2010, closing the year with 194 clubs across Europe and South Africa as follows: Country

No. of clubs at end 2010 South

Africa 94

United Kingdom 71

Italy 19

Iberia 10

Total 194

Financial Review

2010 revenues increased to £445.2m, a 14% improvement on the prior year (2009: £391.0m). Like-for-like revenue, which compares the results from health clubs in operation for a full 12 months in the prior year, increased by 9% to £416.8m (2009: £383.3m).

In addition to an increase in membership subscriptions we have seen good growth in our ancillary revenues in every territory.

EBITDA increased by 13% to £114.6m (2009: £101.1m). Like-for-like EBITDA improved by 9% in the year to £113.0m in 2009 (2009: £103.6m). The EBITDA improvement resulted from underlying revenue growth, ongoing cost management, growth in the contribution from new clubs and favourable movements in exchange rates. At constant currency rates revenue growth was 9% and EBITDA growth was 6%.

Virgin Active remains a well financed company with bank debt leverage immediately after the Esporta acquisition expected to be at a conservative 2.5 times EBITDA.

Operational Review

South Africa

South Africa is our largest territory and Virgin Active now operates 94 clubs, 3 of which were added to the portfolio during 2010. We continue to see strong growth in the country, particularly from a growing aspirational middle class. A new club concept aimed at catering for this segment of the market was successfully launched during the year and 2011 will see Virgin Active open a landmark club in the township of Soweto at Maponya Mall. A total of 8 new clubs are scheduled to open in South Africa in the next 12 months.

We have close and successful working relationships with health insurance providers in South Africa who have pioneered the offer of valuable rewards to their members, including discounted gym membership, to encourage healthier lifestyles. This is a powerful value proposition in the local market which underpins our market positioning.

United Kingdom

The UK business has maintained earnings growth in each of the past 3 years, demonstrating the resilience of our proposition in a tough economic environment.

Our clubs are well positioned and well invested and our members continue to be attracted by our focus on value for money, innovation, and customer service. The business is well positioned to take advantage of improved economic conditions over the medium term.

Italy

Our Italian business continues to deliver strong growth, with 2 new clubs opened in 2010 and a further 7 scheduled to open in 2011 and early 2012. Our growth has focused on increasing our representation and coverage in the key metropolitan centres of Northern Italy and Rome. Our focus is now being expanded to include major cities in the South. There remain good opportunities to grow our footprint and we expect to open between 15 and 20 new clubs within the next 3 years.

Iberia

Our Iberian business has delivered strong like-for-like revenue and earnings growth despite the economic challenges facing Spain and Portugal. Our ability to offer large facilities with a broad range of services at an affordable price has allowed the business to draw new members from both the premium and value ends of the market in one of the world’s largest health club markets.

We believe the market provides attractive opportunities for growth in a market with high health club demand. A further 2 clubs are scheduled to open Iberia in 2011 and we expect to open up to 10 clubs within the next 3 years.

Acquisition of Esporta

Virgin Active also announces today that it has signed an agreement to acquire Esporta’s UK business, which currently operates 35 health and fitness clubs and 20 racquet clubs with a total membership of 159,000, for a total consideration of up to £77.6 million. The transaction does not include the acquisition of the freehold ownership of 17 racquet properties, which will be leased from a Propco entity, which will remain under the control of the vendor.

The transaction remains subject to Office of Fair Trading (OFT) approval. During the OFT review period, Virgin Active will engage with the landlords of the non-Propco leases to determine which leases will be transferred – these will be rebranded as Virgin Active within a 12 month period.

For the year ended 31st December 2009, Esporta's UK business had revenues of £140m. Following the transaction Virgin Active UK will have combined revenues of over £325m and a total portfolio of up to 125 clubs in the UK with over 430,000 members.

Although it remains very fragmented, the acquisition of Esporta significantly strengthens Virgin Active's position in the UK market. The Group will be even better placed to capitilise on the increasing importance that consumers continue to place on health and fitness in improving economic conditions.

Virgin Active believes that the Esporta estate is highly complementary to Virgin Active’s existing business. The acquisition will enable Virgin Active to maintain its strategy of driving economies of scale to offer members outstanding value for money. Furthermore, Esporta's racquets clubs provide additional diversity and enhance Virgin Active's offer to members, the majority of whom will enjoy reciprocal rights between clubs in the Virgin Active estate.

The transaction follows Virgin Active's successful acquisition of six clubs from Esporta in Spain in 2005 and a further ten clubs in the UK in 2004/5. In 2006 Virgin Active acquired 46 clubs from Holmes Place in the UK. Consistent with its approach when it acquired Holmes Place, Virgin Active intends to invest significantly in the Esporta clubs to improve the facilities, service levels and range of equipment for members. Current trading and outlook

Our performance in 2010 continued to demonstrate that our business is resilient in a tough economic environment that has had an impact on consumer spending. The trend that we have seen throughout the recession confirms our opinion that health and fitness is no longer a discretionary spend but instead one that is core to people’s lifestyles, particularly in large urban centres. We have successfully capitalised on this sentiment by offering market leading facilities and excellent value for money. There are exciting opportunities to open new clubs in South Africa, Italy and Iberia and, overall, the business is well placed to further benefit from an improvement in the economic environment.

We have had a strong start to 2011 with positive like-for-like performance. We expect to further strengthen this performance with the opening of 17 new clubs in 2011 and early 2012.

Virgin Active announces three year sponsorship of the Virgin Active London Triathlon

Tue, 10 May 2011 17:28:00 +0100

Virgin Active Health Clubs announces a three year deal to become the title sponsor of the newly named ‘Virgin Active Health Clubs London Triathlon’. The annual IMG Challenger World event, set in London’s Docklands, sees over 13,000 participants swim, cycle and run around a specially designed course that winds through some of London’s most famous landmarks such as Big Ben, Tower Bridge and the London Eye. This year’s event will take place on 30th and 31st July.

Commenting on the partnership, Virgin Active’s Chairman, Richard Baker said; “Virgin Active is very proud to be supporting the London Triathlon, given how well it fits with the core sports replicated in our clubs.

This is the world’s largest event of its type, and its reputation as the fastest growing Olympic sport allows us to encourage a wide range of people of all fitness levels, from beginner to elite, to get involved and try it for themselves. We are aiming to dispel the myth that you have to be an elite athlete to participate and it’s our aim to grow the Triathlon sport through many of our club’s fun offerings including a national indoor Triathlon in 2011. ”

In the lead up to the event, Virgin Active will be launching a series of triathlon related fitness products and will be helping its participating members to train and prepare. They will also be offering a large quantity of highly sought after event places for members. During 2011 indoor triathlons aimed at children and families will take place at Virgin Active’s 71 health clubs across the UK and its 122 clubs in South Africa, Italy and Iberia.

Senior Vice-President of IMG Events Julian Brand added; “Every year this event grows in stature and we are delighted to have Virgin Active Health Clubs on board as we continue this journey. 2011 will be the 15th year of the London Triathlon and we have the ideal partner to help the many thousands of participants from across the UK and internationally get ready for the world’s largest triathlon.”

Virgin Group founder Sir Richard Branson added: “The Virgin Active London Triathlon is set to be not only a really fun event, but also a great way for people of all fitness levels to get involved in sport and exercise. Virgin Active will of course be helping me and their members, many of who have signed up alongside me, shape up for the big day. I hope they don't show me up too much!

Following on from the marathon, it will be a chance for me to take on my children - Holly and Sam - who I’m sure will be keen as ever to beat their dad! Not sure butterfly wings will work on a bicycle though - I'll have to get more creative!”

For more information and to book your place at the 2011 visit Virgin Active Health Clubs London Triathlon.