PureGym bulks up with £235m Swiss expansion Leisure PureGym is muscling in on the Swiss gym market after signing a £235m deal to bulk up its presence in the European country. The gym operator, which is the UK’s largest by membership, has agreed to acquire NonStop Gym, one of Switzerland’s biggest fitness groups. PureGym’s latest expansion comes as the no-frills gym operator seeks [...]
Huel rapped for ‘irresponsible’ Spencer Matthews ad Retail Huel, the meal replacement drink backed by Steven Bartlett, has been rapped by the advertising watchdog for an “irresponsible” ad featuring Made In Chelsea star Spencer Matthews. The drinks firm, which is owned by French food giant Danone, paid for a video featuring Matthews to be circulated on Instagram and Youtube. Both adverts have been [...]
Gym Group upgrades outlook as Gen-Z shrugs off heatwave and World Cup Leisure Gym Group has upgraded its outlook after tempting Gen-Zers into its gyms throughout the summer, despite the distractions of the World Cup and multiple heatwaves. Will Orr, chief executive of the no-frills gym provider, said the group is still on course to deliver three per cent sales growth despite a “noisy macro [environment], some hot [...]
Boots moves closer to London float but billionaire Westons circle June 16, 2026 With one potential suitor out of the running, high street titan Boots is moving closer to a London float, a move that would mark a return to the FTSE 100 for one of the UK’s biggest retailers and deliver a major boost to UK capital markets. The 177-year-old British pharmacy saw the withdrawal of Sigma [...]
The Bath House banya: Contrast therapy in Belgravia June 9, 2026 Contrast therapy is big business. Steve Dinneen visits The Bath House banya in Belgravia for a traditional sauna and icy plunge It is hard to overstate the meteoric rise in the UK’s hot and cold therapy business. The number of Finnish-style public saunas has grown from around 45 in 2023 to more than 700 today, [...]
Cranswick: Pig farmer pivots to bite-sized falafels as Brits embrace weight loss trend May 19, 2026 A food conglomerate founded by pig farmers has been rewarded by its expansion into share-sized Mediterranean foods as weight-loss jabs and health kicks surge in popularity. Cranswick was established by a group of Yorkshire pig farmers in 1972, but has since expanded into falafel and houmous with its acquisitions of Mediterranean food brands like Ramona’s [...]
Holland & Barrett bets on high street with public health pivot April 9, 2026 Holland & Barrett is mounting a renewed focus on its high street presence, offering free health drop-ins amid growing online misinformation and an “under pressure” NHS. The health foods retailer has faced huge losses in recent years and its new chief executive is battling to raise the profile of its high street stores. Anthony Houghton, [...]
Gen-Z swaps pints for gym memberships, fitness boss claims March 11, 2026 Gen-Z fitness fanatics are opting for gym memberships over pints as social media trends drive young Brits to socialise at the pull-up bar rather than the nightclub bar, the boss of The Gym Group has claimed. Will Orr, chief executive at the only London-listed gym provider, told City AM his gyms have seen a surge [...]
Diet advice: A guide to eating better and living longer January 29, 2026 Food has become noisy. Superfoods, supplements, biohacks, rules. Eat this. Avoid that. Count everything. Track it all. Somewhere along the way, managing your diet stopped feeling intuitive and started feeling like a full-time job. Thankfully I stopped buying into that a long time ago. I have eaten my way through all the diet fads and [...]
How something as simple as walking could change your life January 22, 2026 Chef and food writer Bettina Campolucci Bordi tells us how the simple pleasure of walking has improved everything from her sleep to her relationship with her kids I’ve just come back from a walk. Nothing heroic or straining. No matching outfit, no tracker, no goal other than getting some fresh air and moving my body [...]