The author, industry veteran, UK Active board member and founder and CEO of Mosaic Spa and Health Clubs talks to Kath Hudson about the challenges of operating a high-end club when low-cost came on the scene

After 24 years of managing hotel health clubs under contract, Mosaic bought its first standalone owned and operated club, in Shrewsbury UK, in 2011, backed by venture capitalists.

We bought it out of administration, so knew it needed investment, but soon realised far more was required than we’d budgeted for. A large chunk of our finances were used up on things like air conditioning and equipment servicing, which were important but didn't have an impact from the members’ point of view. It also meant we weren’t able to fully realise our vision of what we wanted to do with the club.

Initially, we were able to get the club running profitably, but then budget clubs arrived and three opened within a mile of our club. Despite us offering a pool and tennis courts, there wasn’t enough of a differentiator between their facilities at £10 a month and ours at £60.

The tough competition had a massive impact on our performance and recovery, which led to our venture capitalist backers losing confidence in our business model and the sector. They wanted to exit.

The arrival of the budget clubs meant we had to spring into action quickly. Despite pressure to turn the facility into a trampoline park or an indoor waterpark, I still believed we were doing the right thing – we just hadn’t been able to deliver the facility to match our vision.

So, we doubled down on our model, refreshed our research on local demographics and reconfirmed there was a gap for a club totally dedicated to the family market. We then set about finding another backer who could help us deliver our vision of creating a high quality facility with great service.

A local entrepreneur, who was also a member, came on board with investment. The venture capitalists were bought out and we invested a further £1m to finish off what we should have done the first time around, creating a high quality facility which made a big impact and offered great service.

We went strongly after the family market, putting prices up, but also offering free membership to children under 16 if a parent was a member. This strategy worked and the membership went up from 1,900 to 3,000 within 12 months of the reopening in 2017. We’re now at 6,000 members and for the first time in my career we’re running a waiting list.

The experience taught me to always research the marketplace, find your niche, be clear on your vision and then deliver that vision the absolute best you can. If you’ve done all those things correctly, success should follow.

If I could go back and give myself some advice I would say to stick to the vision and keep believing in myself, even though there was pressure to either drop the prices or change the model completely, we weren’t distracted, stayed with the plan and now have a club and a team of which I’m really proud.

It was an uncomfortable experience, but I wouldn’t change it. I genuinely believe we all become better and stronger for the challenges we face.

During the really tough times we tend to grow the most, learn more about ourselves, hone our skills and emerge with a fresh set of learning and greater resilience.

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