Xercise4Less has secured a new £7.6m funding round from its equity partner the Business Growth Fund (BGF), taking its total investment in the low cost gym chain to £19.7m.

BGF, which holds a minority stake in Xercise4Less, first invested in the chain in 2013 and has now pledged further funds to help finance the company’s expansion.

Having last year been named among the among the 20 fastest growing private firms in the UK, Xercise4Less has reported its sales grew to £21.9m in the 12 months to July 2015, up from £12m in its previous financial year.

The low cost operator has 35 gyms across the UK and CEO Jon Wright has set out plans to open a further 15 to 20 gyms in the next twelve months.

“Xercise4Less is an example of how an ambitious company can disrupt an established model,” said BGF’s Richard Taylor, who sits on the board of Xercise4Less.

“Jon and his team have understood the market and the opportunity available to them and have used our growth capital to build a business of scale.”

BGF, which has also been an investor in Gymbox, has backed more than 100 UK small and mid-sized businesses since 2011 and continues to provide long-term growth capital from its investment pot of £2.5bn in exchange for minority, non-controlling stakes.