EFM Health Clubs moves beyond franchising to offer staff gyms to corporates and councils

With 60 gyms across five states, EFM Health Clubs is moving beyond its established franchising model to offer fitness facilities to corporates and councils with a type of delivery model.

Established in 1991, the Adelaide-based group has long prided itself in having a key point of difference in its offering, providing what it calls a "a service somewhere between a personal trainer and a commercial gym, with an average member to fitness coach ratio of 15:1."

Its new offering is based on councils and corporates providing a space - at no cost - to EFM to operate their gym, which staff are able to attend and which will be viewed as a staff benefit.

EFM then derives its revenue from the membership fees of employees who choose to join, with the employer not having guarantee minimum numbers, as well as from community member.

EFM advise that "the approximate cost to council employees is just $18 a week, and for this, employees receive a group personal trainer through all hours of operation, flexible month by month memberships, fitness assessments, nutrition advice, state of the art fitness equipment and reminder text message, email and phone calls for members whose attendance has waned.

Under the partnership, EFM is responsible for the provision of fitness equipment, qualified trainers for supervised fitness programs, management, marketing, reporting, adminisitrations and insurance at, it says, "$0 cost to your council".

EFM already operates the model in hospitals, schools and for companies and its first council gym recently commenced operations for West Tamar Council in Tasmania in a 180 metre² purpose built space within an allied health precinct.

It also operates similar facilities in South Australia for the Sturt Football Club in the Unley Council local government area, for the Payneham Football Club in a 170 metre² space that was previously an unused bar area beneath a stadium grandstand, for the West Adelaide Bearcats in former squash courts and for Canoe SA in the Port Adelaide Enfield Council area - in a 120 metre² former club room above a boat shed.

For more information go to www.efm.net.au