Image: Anytime opened its first central London club in Kings Cross in February 2012

Franchise operator Anytime Fitness is looking to speed up its search to find suitable UK franchisees to expand its chain of 24-hour clubs.

In May 2010, the company announced plans to have up to 50 clubs operational in the UK and Ireland by the end of 2012.

So far, however, only five Anytime Fitness clubs have opened in the UK with another 18 locations being identified across the country - according to the company's website.

James Cotton, operations director at Anytime Fitness UK, said: "As it's a new franchise in the UK, now is a great time to get in early as there are still fantastic territory opportunities up for grabs for either single or multiple sites.

"We are aiming to have at least 13 sites open by the end of the year and will provide our franchisees with all the support they need including help with premises, state-of-the-art technology, marketing and training to help them achieve both their and their members' goals."

Anytime currently has nearly 2,000 clubs and 1.5 million members in 10 countries. The company was recently named as the fastest growing fitness chain in the world by IHRSA in its annual Global 25 listings.

The Anytime concept is based on an integrated technology system which allows the franchisee to run a 24-hour operation with a low staffing model. To find out more about franchise opportunities at Anytime, click here.