Master Franchise agreement in Scotland was secured by Energie Fitness Clubs, the health & fitness franchise. Five investors, based in Scotland, have secured the rights to sell Energie Fitness Club franchises in the region and hope to sell up to ten opportunities by the end of 2007. The agreement was signed in March this year for an undisclosed sum and Scotland now joins the Republic of Ireland as the second Master Franchise in the group.

The five investors behind the Master Franchisee bring a wealth of experience to the group. Jim Durie, previously Principal Officer for Sport and Leisure Development for South Ayrshire Council, brings 35 years experience managing leisure  & fitness facilities in the UK. He says: This is a really exciting opportunity for Scotland. Communities here tend to be smaller and more disparate than in other areas of the UK. I am confident that the market is well placed to receive a professional, friendly and results driven health and fitness offering and I am looking forward to delivering it.

Joining Jim in the investment are local entrepreneurs, David Weir, Matt Roberts, Jims partner Janice Jones and Dr Andrew Weir a consultant neurophysiologist from Glasgow. For many years David was MD of his own successful Scottish based marketing agency and last year started looking for investment opportunities. It was during this time that he and his oldest friend Matt Roberts discovered the Energie Fitness franchise opportunity and made enquires about owning a franchise. Matt already has experience of running a successful Dominos Pizza franchising business in Kirkcaldy and was keen to explore opportunities with Energie further. In addition to investing in the Master Franchise, David and Matt currently own the stunning 22,000 square foot Energie Fitness Club in Dundee. This club marks the beginning of Energies expansion in Scotland.

Commenting on the deal, David said: Matt and I recognised the potential in the Energie fitness franchise model immediately and were excited by the thought of owning and operating our own fitness franchise business. Having secured the franchising rights to the Energie Fitness Health & fitness franchise in Dundee we now both play an active role in managing the club and will continue to do so in addition to joining Jim and Janice in the development and operation for new franchises.� For further information, please see our listing on this site.