Sports Direct Fitness is laying the foundations for its ‘aggressive’ expansion over the next year by bringing in fresh blood and setting aside £250m to turbocharge the gym chain’s growth.

Health Club Management revealed last month that owner Mike Ashley is happy with the dual-use gym and retail concept devised by the company and is now eager to scale up the rollout of new sites. The ‘£250m war chest’ – first reported by Property Week – will be used to gain a stronger foothold in the south east of England as the chain aims to reach its ultimate goal of 200 gyms nationwide.

The company plans to launch up to 16 new sites in 2016 under the dual-use concept which has seen it offer memberships from as little as £5 per month.

A senior Sports Direct source confirmed that Ashley has appointed Michael Murray, formerly of Central London Properties, to a new property director role. He is tasked with kicking off the expansion of the business on standalone brownfield sites, which will see Sports Direct aim to capitalise on the synergy between its retail and gym divisions by offering the two prospects side-by-side under one roof.

Having made a dramatic entry into the health club market last year with the acquisition of 25 ex-LA fitness sites, Sports Direct Fitness has so far launched three of its new-build facilities. Having lost out to Pure Gym in the race to acquire LA fitness, Sports Direct Fitness had been rumoured to be sizing up a bid for Soho Gyms, although talks have reportedly since broken down.