Stuart has been appointed to drive business growth and help the company achieve its ambitious business target of becoming the UK's largest health club provider.
With more than 40 years' experience in the hospitality and health and fitness industries, Stuart joins Anytime Fitness after a nine-year stint managing his own company, a hotel management organisation with a franchise portfolio including Holiday Inn, Hilton, AccorHotels and Ramada.
Prior to this, Stuart was CEO of LA Fitness, where he helped grow the group to over 100 clubs, from both organic and successful acquisitions.
Stuart has previously worked as president and vice-president of operations, sales and marketing for Hilton Canada with seven corporately owned and 35 franchise sites. From 1997 to 2001 he was managing director of LivingWell Health Clubs, where he took the company from a turnover of £10million to £80million and saw it expand to over 150 clubs worldwide.
Stuart says: "I am delighted to be joining Anytime Fitness at a time when the company has clearly established itself as the significant challenger brand in the health and fitness space. The industry has experienced impressive growth over the last 12-month period, with increases of 4.6 per cent in the number of fitness facilities and 5.1 per cent in the number of members.
"As a part of this, Anytime Fitness has enjoyed impressive growth, enjoying the opening of its 100th UK club in January this year. This has helped position the business as the fastest-growing fitness franchise in the world, with plans to open the 150th by the end of the year. Joining the team at such an exciting phase of its growth represents an exciting professional challenge."
