Live
NRG Gyms
UK-WIDE
LOCATION
LEISURE
SECTOR
MARCH 2018
INITIAL DEAL
Overview
In 2025, Puma Growth Partners invested a further £4 million into NRG Gyms, an award-winning, high-value, low-price gym group founded by Shafiq Ahmed. The investment is supporting NRG in continuing to expand its portfolio of gyms across the UK. This builds on the original £5 million that Puma invested in NRG back in 2018.
About NRG
NRG Gyms is aimed at price-sensitive millennials with a serious interest in fitness. It provides 24-hour gyms with a range of high-quality equipment and classes. The gyms specialise in providing an affordable gym experience with a large selection of high-end equipment. At the time of Puma’s original £5 million investment back in 2018, NRG operated sites in Gravesend and Watford and has since added gyms in Walsall, Lewisham, Newcastle, Sheffield and Stretford, Manchester.
Puma invested a further £4 million in the company to accelerate further gym site rollouts. The company has consistently demonstrated its ability to increase its return on investment per new site. This evidences the strong value proposition that the company can offer its target market.
Alongside Puma’s latest investment, NRG also strengthened its management team with the appointment of Neil Greenhalgh to its Board as Non-Executive Director. A qualified Chartered Accountant, Neil spent nearly 20 years at JD Sports, including five years as Chief Financial Officer. He played a central role in JD Sports opening its own gyms, as part of which he led the process which saw JD Sports acquire the Xercise4Less gym chain in 2020.
The company won Region Gym of the Year (South) at the National Fitness Awards 2022.
OUR VIEW
“We are delighted to continue our support for NRG with funding that will help the business grow its portfolio of gyms and continue to build on Shafiq’s passion for his business, members and his colleagues. The strong management team and proven business model have positioned NRG as a formidable operator in a sector expected to be worth approximately £2.8 billion in 2025. The addition of Neil Greenhalgh further enhances the company’s capacity to establish itself as a leading provider of low-cost, high-value gym facilities. “We look forward to working closely with Shafiq, and the wider team, to help realise their ambitions for the business going forwards.”
THE COMPANY'S VIEW
“I am delighted that Puma has chosen to continue to support the growth of NRG with further investment into the business. “It’s a testament to the success of the business and will allow us to continue to grow our member communities, develop our pipeline of new sites all whilst continually investing in the team, people development and infrastructure required to grow further.”
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