Xpect Leisure has opened its latest health and fitness club in Braintree, Essex.

The £2.5m club is the first site Xpect – which was launched four years ago by three former Cannons directors – will own and manage itself, having formerly managed three sites under the ROKO health and fitness concept.

As well as a main gym, fully equipped by Life Fitness, and a ladies-only gym the club houses a 20m swimming pool, sauna, steamroom and spa pool.

Other facilities include a crèche, café bar and aerobics studio.

The club uses the Fitlinxx system throughout to help members get the most out of their membership, combined with the Gladstone MRM membership management system. It also offers the ProHealth lifestyle and weight management solution.

The site opened with more than 2,000 members already signed up and has attracted a further 200 members to date. Seventy per cent of the membership is female.

Malcolm Chamberlain, director of Xpect, said: “We have taken the example of other service led industries such as banking and airlines, and invested heavily in member focused technology at this club.

“These four suppliers have worked together as a team in order to provide us, as the customer, with the tools to help us manage our business more effectively. This unique cutting edge IT solution helps us to understand our members better. We can then tailor our offering to meet their individual needs and enable them to get the most out of the club’s facilities. We are delighted with the result and the feedback from members has been fantastic.”