London's 1Rebel looking to Australian fitness expansion

1Rebel, the boutique fitness chain created by James Balfour, the son of Fitness First founder Mike Balfour, has announced expansion plans that include club openings in the Australian market.

Having recently secured a £6.6 million (US$8.3 million) investment from venture capital fund Codex Capital, Balfour has revealed that the group plans to add to its existing five clubs in London with further UK clubs as well as announcing that the company has appointed a management team in Australia.

With plans to open its first club in either Sydney or Melbourne in the first half of 2019, Australasian Leisure Management understands that the Australian management team includes former ClassPass executive Amanda Maclean.

Balfour told UK media this week "there’s lots of opportunity in Australia and we know people too, from the days when Australia was the jewel of the Fitness First crown.

“We’ve used our network in Australia to put a great team in place – a team we implicitly trust to execute the plan.

"The reason we like Australia is that, behind America, it’s the biggest market – and the Americans are already very good at boutiques."

Immersed in the business of fitness from an early age, through his father who created the Fitness First brand in 1992, James Balfour and business partner Giles Dean set out to create a new gym concept in the ever-changing fitness landscape.

Branding itself as the 'anti-gym', 1Rebel relies on three fitness concepts: the Ride spinning concept, the Rumble boxing concept, and Reshape, which includes running and weights.

With clubs styled like futuristic film sets, the interiors of 1Rebel gyms are artfully dishevelled with additions including cold press juice bars, music playlists curated by top DJs and licensed bars.

The group also has environmental credentials, recently launching its Rebel Against Plastic Campaign.

Images: James Balfour (top) and the 1Rebel club in London's Victoria (below). Courtesy of 1Rebel.