Anytime Fitness named number one on annual Top Global Franchise list

Anytime Fitness, the world’s largest and fastest-growing fitness club chain, has been ranked No. 1 on Entrepreneur magazine’s annual Top Global Franchise list.

Averaging more than 300 new gyms a year for each of the past eight years, Anytime Fitness will soon open its 3,000th franchised unit – in a shorter time (13 years) than it took other franchising legends like McDonald’s, Subway, 7-Eleven and Pizza Hut to reach that same milestone.

 To compile the Top Global Franchises ranking, US-based Entrepreneur started with each company's 2015 Franchise 500® score – based on objective, quantifiable criteria including system size, growth and financial strength and stability – then adjusted to give extra weight to international size and growth.

Brother and sister team Justin and Jacinta McDonell (pictured below) launched the highly successful US franchise into Australia in 2008, and it has since become the quickest growing segment of the world’s fastest growing fitness chain.

Anytime Fitness Australia has the largest group of clubs open outside of the USA, and is the biggest health club chain in Australia, starting from humble beginnings with the first club in the small country town of Gunnedah, NSW, to the 400th club in Aspley, Queensland. They are currently operating in 411 locations nationally with over 500 territories sold to date.

Commenting on the success of Anytime Fitness in Australia, Justin McDonell states “our members mean a lot to us.

“They’ll always be what matters most and are the secret to our success”.

Anytime Fitness want their members to feel like they belong, and feel something better every time they visit their club.

As McDonell adds “when designing our clubs, we look at what our members will want in their club and the services they will expect.

“We have world class equipment, a functional layout, online health resources, clean bathrooms, top of the range security systems and knowledgeable staff who take an interest in all their members – and all of this available for members 24 hours 7 days a week.”

Anytime Fitness co-founder and Chief Executive Chuck Runyon states “this designation as #1 Top Global Franchise is a credit to our international franchise development team and our fabulous group of international master franchisees.

“Whether it’s Australia, the Netherlands or Singapore, our franchisees are providing our members with personal service that gets real results.

“That personal touch and high level of engagement is what differentiates Anytime Fitness from many other gyms and what has strengthened and grown our brand worldwide.”

Worldwide, Anytime Fitness serves more than 2.5 million members on five continents.

Since its founding in 2002, members have exercised at one Anytime Fitness club or another more than half-a-billion times.

Anytime Fitness co-founder and President Dave Mortensen concludes “Anytime Fitness was founded on the idea that exercise should be as convenient and rewarding as possible.

“We’ve eliminated all of the most common barriers to healthy lifestyles and, by constantly finding new ways to help our members realize meaningful results, we’re well on our way to achieving our goal of helping as many people as possible get to a healthier place.”

Click here to view Entrepreneur magazine’s annual Top Global Franchise list for 2015.

21st January 2015 - PURPLE CLUBS MANAGEMENT BOOSTS PERFORMANCE OF ANYTIME FITNESS’S AUSTRALIAN FRANCHISES

12th December 2014 - ANYTIME FITNESS SYDNEY CITY GYM TO REOPEN AFTER MAJOR REFURBISHMENT

30th June 2008 - ANYTIME FITNESS TO ENTER AUSTRALIA - 350 NEW CLUBS EXPECTED