BlueFit expands facility management operations in Victoria

Having merged the Lane 4 Aquatic facilities business into the group as of June this year, BlueFit has now expanded in Victoria, taking on three venues previously managed by Leisure Management Services and relocating its support office to Moonee Ponds in Melbourne.

BlueFit last week transitioned into the BayFit Leisure Centre in Altona, plus the Glen Waverley and Oakleigh golf courses.

This expansion was preceded by the recruitment of two experienced Victorian aquatic and recreation facility managers, Drew Hildebrandt and Amber Campbell, in the middle of the year, with the pair bringing a wealth of knowledge in programming, facility and contract management and community engagement into the group.

BlueFit owner and Chief Executive Todd McHardy, who has moved back to Melbourne to personally drive the growth, explains “we’re maintaining a very strong administrative and management presence in Sydney and I’m up there with our team every week making sure our sites continue to out-perform.

“I grew up in Melbourne and it’s great to be back. After spending 12 years building the BlueFit family in Sydney, I felt it was time to enter the Victorian market.”

Commenting on the new contracts, McHardy stated “we’re grateful to the City of Monash and Hobsons Bay City Council for showing confidence in our ability to improve usage at these sites”.

Bluefit’s expansion has also seen Dan Mulvey, formerly the owner of Lane 4 Aquatics, take a more senior role in NSW as BlueFit Chief Operating Officer.

Mulvey will be leading the organisation in business and systems development, based out of the Hurstville Aquatic Leisure Centre, which will soon benefit from a $20 million extension.

Commenting on his new role, Mulvey advises “BlueFit are investing heavily in the implementation of a range of sophisticated systems to dramatically improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the business in critical areas such as staff on-boarding and training, safety management, incident reporting, client communication, contract compliance and business tracking.

“We are determined to be leaders in providing recreation services to our patrons and delivering on our mantra of Inspiring Community Activity.”

While BlueFit now manage 25 facilities across NSW, Queensland and Victoria, McHardy is not solely focussed on growth in the number of sites, adding “we prefer to manage 40 facilities really well than simply race towards 100.

“This is not about size and status, it's about creating genuine partnerships with Councils, in order to build tailored programs and amazing experiences for their residents.

“If nothing else this move into Victoria is great for the industry with increased competition in the tendering market already lifting the bar."

It has been a busy year for BlueFit team with the business also forming a new board chaired by ex-Bunnings and current CSR Chairman John Gillam in February.

For more information go to www.bluefit.com.au