Industry veteran Jason Worthy, who was appointed CEO of Anytime Fitness UK eight months ago, has stepped down from the role effective immediately, citing 'personal circumstances beyond his control'.

Chair of Anytime Fitness UK, Andy Thompson, said: "The Anytime UK board and indeed the whole support office have enjoyed the past seven months of Jason’s strong leadership.

“He is a rare leader, capable of understanding a business model quickly, forming a strategic vision for the future, mentoring and supporting staff, while also keeping a keen eye on the day-to-day operations.

"While both parties wish it could be a different scenario," said Thompson, "there's a lot of gratitude for the opportunity provided to Jason and the contribution he's made. He's succeeded in establishing a platform on which future success will be built, with significant changes to our people, our policies and our growth strategy."

The board of Anytime Fitness has appointed advisors to assist in the search for a new CEO to lead the business through its next phase of growth, with this recruitment process already underway.

The board will also be supporting executive team leaders to manage the business through the interim period.

The change comes as Anytime Fitness – which is part of Self Esteem Brands (SEB) – is poised for major growth.

Talking to HCM this month, SEB co-founder, Dave Mortensen, said the company has set a target to grow from 5,500 to 10,000 locations in the next five years across its wellness brands, which include Anytime Fitness, SUMHIIT Fitness, Basecamp Fitness, The Bar Method, Waxing The City, Stronger U Nutrition and Healthy Contributions.

Worthy has a history of senior positions in the industry.

Earlier in his career, he helped build and scale an internet-based fitness startup and secured investment for its growth.

He worked for LA Fitness and was then head of sales at Technogym, moving to Fitness First in 2011 to become head of operations for the launch of Fitness First's budget concept, Klick Fitness. He was responsible for rolling out the first phase of the new brand which started in Q3 of 2011.

In April 2012 he joined Life Fitness as GM for EMEA, being promoted to MD of the UK business in May 2013.

Life Fitness again promoted Worthy to the role of MD for direct business EMEA in January 2016 and by May he had been made MD of Cybex International, supporting the integration of Cybex with the Brunswick Corporation’s family of brands, following its US$195m (€179m, £138m) acquisition at the start of that year.

His ascent through Brunswick continued with a new role in 2018, when he was made president of Life Fitness ahead of the spin-off of its fitness division.

Worthy moved within Brunswick in July 2019, doing a stint as VP International of its Boating Services division, before taking on on the role of CEO at Dallaglio RugbyWorks in March 2020.

The role as CEO of Anytime Fitness UK followed in January 2023.

Worthy's focus going forward will be as a high performance coach and non-executive director.