The future of a community gym launched by four friends in a Northumberland village has been secured following a five-figure investment.
District V opened in April last year in a 700sqft base at the Whitehouse Farm Business Centre near Morpeth, primarily to give a small number of residents of St Mary’s Park in Stannington somewhere to exercise and keep fit.
The facility’s ‘functional fitness’ training style attracted dozens of members, with clients travelling from as far away as Ponteland and Throckley to attend classes.
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Now, to capitalise on the additional demand, District V has moved into neighbouring premises at Whitehouse Farm that is more than double the size.
The four founders worked with regional fund management firm NEL Fund Managers to secure a £15,000 investment from the North East Small Loan Fund Supported By The European Regional Development Fund to support the move.
The additional investment means they can also bring in a range of new equipment, including rowing machines, free weights, dumbbells and a custom-built exercise rig, and they are now aiming to grow the gym’s membership.
Functional Fitness is a form of training that builds strength, stability and mobility that combines bodyweight movements, barbell exercises and gymnastic skills to provide a well-rounded and effective workout.
The gym currently offers more than 20 classes a week that include no more than 12 people at a time and has four coaches on hand to run and supervise them.
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Bastian White, one of District V’s four directors, said: “We really only set up the gym for ourselves and a few friends and neighbours, and it’s been great to see the number of users growing over the last few months, essentially just through word of mouth.
“We try to provide a friendly, welcoming atmosphere that encourages people to keep coming back and this close-knit environment will remain central to what we do in the new premises.
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“Functional fitness is all about helping people live healthy and active everyday lives. It’s an approach that’s scalable to every age and ability, and the feedback we’ve had from users about the impact it’s had on them has been terrific.
“Whitehouse Farm is an easily accessible location that gives us plenty of space for all sorts of different activities, inside and out. Moving into the bigger unit will allow us to welcome even more people along to try out what we have to offer.”
Part of the £120m North East Fund and aimed at smaller SMEs, the £9m North East Small Loan Fund offers loans of between £10,000 and £50,000 to businesses in Tyne and Wear, Durham and Northumberland.
Mike Guellard, investment executive at NEL Fund Managers, said: “The District V team has made amazing progress in such a short space of time.
“The new gym looks terrific, and with many of us making a New Year’s resolution to get fitter, it’s opening at an ideal time.”