Dave Courteen and Steve Taylor met whilst studying at Carnegie College for business and leisure qualifications and realised they both shared a passion for having their own business and for working in a customer facing environment. When they completed their studies the opportunity arose to develop a gym within a hotel that would appeal to both local members and hotel guests alike and Fitness Express was born.
This was in 1987 and the embryonic business employed one other member of staff and operated one small hotel based gym. The Fitness Express philosophy was the same then as it is now – to operate health clubs that are fun and friendly to belong to, creating a personalised service delivered with great attention to detail and an emphasis on safety. By over delivering on customer expectations the business grew as more hotel operators appreciated the value of having a focussed team operating their health club whose fees were directly related to the success of the facility and by 2001 the business employed over 200 staff and operated 14 hotel health clubs across the UK.
At this point in time Fitness Express was acquired by Crown Sports PLC with Dave and Steve becoming part of the Crown senior team. It was at this time that significant investment was made into the Fitness Express IT structure with a single database of all members created. An investment model was also introduced which saw Fitness Express able to provide clients with capital to help develop better facilities.
By 2004 Steve and Dave were keen to recreate the entrepreneurial culture they had before the acquisition by the PLC. Seeing the opportunity created with the increasing demand for spa facilities within hotels they bought back Fitness Express and began researching the spa market.
The approach was simple to create a spa concept that was really friendly and personable and build on the 'make a difference', people-orientated philosophy that Fitness Express is renowned for. They wanted to solve some of the service delivery issues they had experienced when they visited spas themselves. So they made sure that the treatment menu was simple so that all the therapists could do all the treatments all the time allowing guests to choose their treatment on the day and not weeks before when booking. They created exciting thermal suites with aroma steam rooms, herb saunas and ice fountains so that the spa experience was much more than just a treatment. They made the pricing simple so that guests were certain of the cost but could still have any treatment of their choice from the menu. They ensured the therapists were trained not only to give great treatments but to help the guest choose the most appropriate treatment; and to ensure that each treatment was tailor made to the outcome the guest wanted – relaxed, revitalised or restored. They also created double treatment rooms so that couples on a spa day could actually spend the whole day together too.
All of this was backed up with the power of a digital media team that has created "Boost" our in house spa CRM system that underpins the growth of the spa business to maximise returns for our clients and ourselves.
Today the business operates over 30 facilities across the UK and employs over 350 staff. There are currently 15 spas in the portfolio, most operated under a branding chosen by the client rather than imposed by the Imagine team. The first spa opened in 2007 and already has been a finalist in the Residential Day Spa of the Year. The spas continue to perform ahead of client expectations and ahead of the industry perceived norms.
In order to maximise the opportunities that the business was unearthing, Steve and Dave partnered up in 2011 with Downing Corporate Finance to create Mosaic Spa and Health Clubs Ltd. Downing manage a venture capital investment trust which specialises in the hospitality and leisure sector. They have a 30% stake in the business and can provide Mosaic with the financial support to invest in spa joint ventures with hotel operators as well as acquire stand alone health club and day spas. The goal for 2011 will be to identify suitable targets and make acquisitions.
Dave and Steve are as actively involved in the business now as they were when they started out 24 years ago and they’d love to meet with you and "imagine" how they could get your facility delivering an exceptional return.
With a great management team, financial backing, digital media expertise and creativity, Mosaic Spas and Health Clubs really does have all the right pieces for success.
