BK’s Gymnastics has started to franchise, opening up fresh opportunities for keen would-be franchise buyers.
The gymnastics brand is part of Belgravia Group, one of Australia’s largest-privately owned companies, with a portfolio of health and fitness businesses including Jump! Swim School, Ninja Parc, Genesis Health & Fitness, and Coaching Zone.
Right now there are seven company-owned specialty BK’s Gymnastics centres for children in Melbourne and Sydney.
The brand’s CEO Mark Rendell believes now is the time to expand into a franchise model as membership numbers are rising rapidly.
“We have seen a major growth in memberships over the last two years – up 225 per cent,” he says.
“The last six months alone have seen an 30 per cent rise in members across our current sites at Marrickville, Bacchus March, Bayside, Craigieburn, Hawthorn, Hoppers Crossing and Noble Park.
“We have Caroline Springs opening in May and we’re looking to secure 10 new franchise sites before the end of the year. With our current membership growth levels and the backing of Belgravia giving franchisees confidence in the offering, we’re very optimistic about reaching this target.”
The latest AusPlay survey participation data reveals that despite the impacts of Covid, gymnastics continued to rank in the top three organised sports for children under the age of 12.
A 2019 Gymnastics Australia Annual report shows that at the time more than 800,000 Australians were engaged in the sport.
Gymnastics qualifies for recently introduced state government sport voucher programs like Get Active Kids in Victoria, which is helping Australian parents get their kids back into sport.
Mark says “Gymnastics has often been referred to as the nursery of Australian sport, with many athletes – including the likes of Olympic swimmer Emily Seebom, hurdler Sally Pearson and former Roosters captain Anthony Minichiello – starting off in gymnastics as kids.
“It provides skills like coordination and balance that set kids up very well physically, regardless of what other activities and sports they pursue now or in the future and research shows that children who develop these skills are far more likely to get involved in sports and recreation throughout their life and will have lower risk of obesity.
“We’re very excited to be franchising BK’s Gymnastics as it will get more kids across the country involved in physical activity, further aiding the Belgravia Group’s mission to get one million Australian kids engaged in physical activity.”
Franchise sites are available Australia-wide and footprints range from 350-650m2 with existing indoor sports centres or buildings able to be converted into a BK’s Gymnastics facility.