Factory Weights founders Tom Russell and Craig Guthrie have unveiled plans to open a 40,000 square feet headquarters in Glasgow.
Set up in Glasgow in the midst of lockdown in spring 2021, Factory Weights said it capitalised on the boom of at-home workouts and online training programmes.
As many UK based personal training businesses saw demand soar during this period, it helped Factory Weights quickly establish a foothold in the market, it said.
The brand now claims to be a leading supplier of gym equipment across the UK and provides equipment to both trade and consumer customers.
Factory Weights headquarters located just off London Road is set to be a very positive addition to the East end area and the founders are aiming to employ 20-30 members of the local community as part of wider regeneration plans within the Gallowgate area.
Mr Russell said: “We launched our business after seeing the demand for good quality gym equipment surge throughout the pandemic. But as we move out of this period both trade customers and consumers are still training more than ever and fitness and health is still very much a priority across both sectors.
“Our new headquarters will have a fully stocked retail shop where both the public and those within the fitness industry can purchase gym equipment. We will also have a showroom and a state of the art gym and training facility. Once open we plan to launch a Personal Training academy to help aspiring PT’s grow their businesses further. The Factory Weights HQ will also contain a large distribution area where we can fulfil our UK wide orders from. It’s a really exciting project and it's fantastic to see the space taking shape.”
The founders said they are passionate about making fitness more accessible in the East End community and hope the new space will become a busy active hub for local customers.
Through a series of planned events the firm hopes to educate and highlight the benefits of fitness and strength training for both physical and mental health.
Mr Russell added: “We plan to work with local schools and businesses to help them reap the benefits of working out via free equipment, and we’ll be working on a local campaign to help provide affordable access to our training facility for those who live and work in the surrounding area.”
Glasgow business chief: Sunak energy crisis measures are 'drop in the ocean'
MEASURES unveiled by Chancellor Rishi Sunak in this week’s Spring Statement to combat soaring inflation have been branded a “drop in the ocean” compared with the increased costs facing households and firms.
As Mr Sunak faces criticism that the statement did not do enough to help the most financially vulnerable in society, or to support businesses, the chief executive of Glasgow Chamber of Commerce has declared firms in the city had been hoping for more radical steps from the Chancellor.
Cost-of-living crisis bites
ANNUAL UK consumer prices index inflation surged to a 30-year high of 6.2 per cent in February – once again coming in worse than expected in official figures published yesterday – and is expected to surge even further through spring.
The inflation rate is up from 5.5% in January, and exceeded the median forecast of 5.9% in a poll of economists conducted by Reuters. It is the highest since March 1992, when annual CPI inflation was at 7.1%.
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