Urban Gym Group (UGG) has announced a 50 per cent increase in TrainMore memberships in Q1 of 2022 compared with same quarter in 2021.

Following this boost in members and a €16m investment earlier this year, the Netherlands-based fitness chain has opened a new club, Van Wou, in Amsterdam – part of a development plan for openings and upgrades throughout 2022.

The new facility becomes the thirteenth TrainMore club and is located in De Pijp, a cosmopolitan area in the south of the city. It spans 700m sq across two floors and is outfitted with Life Fitness equipment.

“The desire for an extra location in this neighbourhood has been around for a long time, and this building on the Van Woustraat exceeds expectations – the gym will be next level,” said Marjolijn Meijer, CEO of Urban Gym Group.

Earlier this year Meijer confirmed the group’s dedication to opening and upgrading clubs. “We continue to invest in new locations, takeovers of gyms and upgrades of existing locations,” said Meijer. “TrainMore Singel is being expanded by 600m sq and will open soon, Rotterdam Coolsingel is being renovated, and we’re designing two new TrainMore gyms at Amsterdam Javaplein and Westerpark."

Renovations are also ongoing on TrainMore West, The Hague and Haarlem clubs.

Staff development is also top of Urban Gym Group’s agenda this year. “Substantial investments are being made in staff expansion and learning and development,” added Meijer. “Our academy focuses on developing our personal trainers, performers, club and office employees.”

In an exclusive interview with HCM, Meijer explained more about her desire to unlock talent within the company.

“A lot of companies really don’t know what kind of talent they have, because they don’t ask and don’t give people an opportunity to show their potential,” said Meijer. “We ask and we give opportunities. For example, we have strategy calls where our employees are divided into teams, each focusing on a different area of the business.

“One presentation was on our IT strategy, and on that team was a girl who was just doing nine hours a week of host work at Clubsportive while studying at university. She was always so quiet, but on this call she was amazing – talking about a topic she was passionate about – and she now has a job in our IT team.”

Urban Gym Group operates brands TrainMore, Club Sportive, High Studios, BTY CLB and Trib3, and, with the addition of Van Wou, now operates a 35-strong estate of clubs.