[Interview] Supporting Success at Every Stage: Inside Club Pilates UK’s Franchise Model

What training and support do franchisees receive before and after opening their first studio?

Club Pilates provides structured training, support, and resources designed to help franchisees launch with confidence and grow sustainably over time. Support begins well before opening, with comprehensive onboarding covering territory planning, studio selection, studio design, build-out requirements and equipment specifications. This is supported by a multi-day franchisee training programme that prepares owners for all aspects of running a successful studio, including recruitment and team leadership, local marketing and lead generation, sales and membership strategy, operational best practice and performance management.

In the lead-up to opening, franchisees are guided through proven pre-sale, soft opening and grand opening playbooks, ensuring strong brand awareness, early member acquisition and a smooth transition into live operations. Central systems and tools support membership management, class scheduling, reporting and performance tracking, giving franchisees clear visibility from day one.

After launch, ongoing support continues through regular check-ins, performance reviews and benchmarking against the wider network. Franchisees benefit from continued marketing guidance, updated playbooks and shared learnings from across the network. This ongoing partnership approach ensures franchisees are supported not just at launch but throughout the lifecycle of their business as they optimise performance and scale.

How do you help franchisees protect and grow profitability as their studios mature?

Club Pilates helps franchisees maintain and improve profitability through a combination of a proven recurring revenue model, rigorous performance monitoring, and ongoing commercial support. The business is built around a multi-tier, membership-based structure that drives predictable, auto-renewing income and strong retention, giving franchisees clear visibility into recurring and gross revenue performance and a stable financial foundation from which to grow.

Profitability is actively managed through constant review of key performance metrics, including lead flow, conversion, membership growth, retention, class utilisation and yield per member. Central reporting systems enable regular auditing of performance and benchmarking against the wider network, allowing opportunities for improvement to be identified early. Continuous local and national marketing activity supports consistent lead acquisition, while franchisees receive ongoing education and support around marketing execution, sales training, and membership retention strategies. Studios are guided on building and managing effective sales teams, with clear targets and commission-based structures that incentivise performance. Combined with structured check-ins, ongoing training, and operational guidance to improve efficiency as studios mature, this ensures profitability is continually optimised rather than left to chance.

How do you balance local market flexibility with protecting the integrity of the brand?

Club Pilates allows for local market adaptability through clearly defined frameworks that set out what must remain consistent and where franchisees have flexibility. Core elements such as brand identity, studio design, equipment specifications, class formats, pricing structure, and the overall member experience are standardised across the network to protect the integrity and recognisability of the brand.

Within these guardrails, franchisees are responsible for working closely with approved local marketing vendors to promote their studio in a way that resonates with their specific demographic. Every market is different, and franchisees are encouraged to tailor local marketing, partnerships, and community engagement to reflect local behaviors, competition, and demand, while remaining aligned with brand standards. Central marketing playbooks, performance data, and regular check-ins support this approach, ensuring local adaptability strengthens results without compromising the consistency of the Club Pilates experience across the network.

What innovations or updates have been introduced to keep the concept competitive?

Club Pilates continues to evolve the franchise system by responding to member demand while maintaining a consistent global brand experience. Recent innovations have included the introduction of new class formats and progressions, as well as increasing the level of challenge within certain classes to meet growing demand from more experienced members, while still remaining accessible to beginners. This ensures members can continue to progress within the brand rather than seeking alternative concepts as their fitness level increases.

From a commercial perspective, the franchise system is regularly refined to reflect changing consumer behavior in different markets. In the UK, this has included adapting introductory offers, first-time experiences, and class package structures to align with local expectations, while protecting the core membership-led model. These updates are informed by performance data, member feedback, and learnings from across the wider network.

All innovations are introduced within clearly defined global standards. Core elements such as class structure, studio environment, equipment, branding, and overall member experience remain consistent across all territories, ensuring that wherever members attend a Club Pilates studio worldwide, they receive the same high-quality, premium experience while benefiting from thoughtful, market-relevant enhancements.

Finally, what are your plans for expanding Club Pilates across the UK?

Club Pilates has a clear, long-term strategy for expanding and developing the franchise network in the UK. The goal is to open 100 studios over the next 10 years, establishing a strong national footprint and positioning Club Pilates as the leading Reformer Pilates brand in the market. Growth is being approached in a structured and disciplined way, prioritising quality of franchise partners and locations over rapid, uncontrolled expansion.

Franchisees are initially awarded single territories only, allowing both parties to ensure the model is executed to a high standard. This approach ensures franchisees can demonstrate operational excellence, brand alignment, and commercial performance before expanding further. Once a franchisee has proven they can successfully operate a studio and uphold the Club Pilates brand, opportunities to acquire additional territories may be made available.

The focus remains on partnering with the ideal candidates for the brand, including experienced multi-unit operators, commercially minded professionals transitioning from corporate careers, and passionate Pilates instructors who want to scale their impact through ownership. Alongside physical expansion, the concept will continue to evolve through ongoing refinement of class programming, marketing strategy, and operational systems, informed by global insight and UK-specific learnings. This disciplined approach to growth is designed to protect brand quality, support franchisee success, and create long-term value as Club Pilates establishes itself as the market-leading Reformer Pilates brand in the UK.