Member Article

Ex-insurance man opens 24 hour gym at Gateshead’s Trinity Square

An insurance specialist who describes himself as a reluctant gym goer has opened a 24 hour gym at Gateshead’s new Trinity Square development using £297k in loans.

Austen Kimm worked in insurance for more than two decades and opened a branch of the Anytime Fitness franchise at the recently remodelled Trinity Square.

Funding from NatWest’s Funding for Leisure, and support from NatWest Relationship Manager Doug McKenzie, helped Austen in setting up the business.

Austen said: “I’m the reluctant gym goer, having tried many over the years and never stuck at it, so this model was very appealing with the option to workout 24 hours a day using high-quality equipment.

“I really want this centre to be the kind of place people want to go to instead of feeling like they should go because it’s the gym. The facility is quite intimate so our club managers will be able to get know our members personally as we want the centre to have a community feel to it.

“Doug has been great and I think he is one of the primary reasons I chose NatWest. He has helped to make the process run as smoothly as possible.”

Austen secured a £237k Funding for Leisure loan from NatWest and a further £60k from Lombard Finance as part of the deal.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Tom Keighley .