Let's call in the accountants. It will give us a good workout

By JEFF PRESTRIDGE FOR THE MAIL ON SUNDAY
Updated: 16:27 EDT, 13 March 2011

These are good times for health and fitness club chain thirtysevendegrees. Its flagship gym, on the prestigious More London office estate by Tower Bridge, is set to enjoy a membership boom as accountancy group PricewaterhouseCoopers moves 6,000 staff into offices adjoining the gym.

Thirtysevendegrees was set up by Andy Kay with nearly £3 million of funding from VCT specialist Albion Ventures. It caters to corporate clients and has gyms in Kensington, west London, and Weybridge in Surrey.

Healthy: Andy Kay's chain of gyms is being backed by VCT Albion Ventures

The More London gym currently draws its members from the nearby offices of Ernst & Young, solicitors Norton Rose and commercial law firm Lawrence Graham.

It has more than 3,000 members, an array of 80 workout machines, three studios, a medical centre and seven personal trainers on hand to put members through their paces.

Kay says: 'Things are going well despite the tough economic environment. Last year, we gained 2,100 members, but also lost 1,700. We have to work really hard to increase overall membership because people are constantly moving jobs and terminating their gym membership as a result.

'We're excited about the boom that should result from PwC.'

Albion Ventures earns a healthy income from its investment in thirtysevendegrees.

The investment is overseen by Albion partner David Gudgin who regularly meets with Kay.

'Our investment in Andy's business is at the safer end of the risk spectrum for us,' says Gudgin.

'Typically we try to set up our VCT portfolios so that 70 per cent of the businesses are safe bets like thirtysevendegrees. With the remaining 30 per cent, we then aim to identify companies at the leading edge of their fields.

These businesses either do spectacularly well or spectacularly badly.'