The first XF Gym has opened in the UK. The 40,000sq ft gym is housed in a former Debenhams store in the Merry Hill shopping centre near Dudley.

The club is the first of what is expected to be a small chain.

XF Gym offers an open-plan workout zone, a women-only space, a range of classes in its group exercise studios – including yoga, HIIT and boxing – and a wellness area offering sauna, steamroom, tanning beds and massage.

A number of memberships are available, including gym-only (£24.97 a month); restricted access to gym, classes and wellness (£34.97) and unlimited access to everything (£74.97). Discounts are offered to Merry Hill shopping centre staff, as well as people who work for the defence and emergency services.

CEO at XF Gym, Laurence Benson, says the gym offers “an unparalleled athletic environment where members will be united in a singular goal of living better. This starts by improving health, fitness and wellness, but also by being in a welcoming space where members can socialise, meet and make friends and become part of a supportive community.”

HCM first reported plans for the launch in November 2023, when the operating brand was due to be Xtrafit, however, this has now been changed to the XF Gym name.

XF Holdings is the owner of the site which is connected to Axel Lankes, a former shareholder of the German operator, Xtrafit, which has 17 locations in Germany. The two companies are no longer connected.

Lankes is understood to have registered the naming rights for Xtrafit in the UK, in 2019, with a view to bring the German brand to the UK market, however, these plans were shelved when the management team of Xtrafit Germany did not support the idea. Lankes has pursued XF Holdings alone, pivoting to the XF Gym name. Benson and Lankes are both directors of the business.