Urban Gym Group opens doors to flagship Gymbox with design by Patrick McKinney
Urban Gym Group opened its first new site since acquiring Gymbox last October. The 22,000 site in London’s Finsbury Park will become the blueprint for future clubs.
This is the 10th Gymbox in London. This hotly contested site was acquired by Gymbox in 2019, now part of Netherlands-based Urban Gym Group.
The company has invested more than £250k in creating a health club with a nightclub feel. Architect and founder of A.M.P, Patrick McKinney, was responsible for the design.
Features include adjustable lighting to create different moods and a DJ booth. “We don’t do white walls and bland music,” general manager, Ellis Smith, told HCM on a visit last week. “We’re constantly changing up the playlists and invite DJs from the local community to play in the evenings."
Capacity is 4,000 and more than 2,000 people signed up in the pre-sale. The extensive gym features equipment by Eleiko, Woodway, Rogue, Concept 2, Blackbox, Life Fitness Hammer Strength and Stronger Wellness.
There is also a group exercise area – which will be fitted out with bungees and equipment to offer aerial classes, including yoga and trapeze – a 28-bike indoor cycling studio and a 16-bed PILAT3S reformer Pilates studio. Reformer Pilates is included in the £95 a month membership and Ellis says the first class sold out in eight seconds.
Almost 100 classes are offered across the three studios each week, including Hyrox classes and Baz Moffat’s Bloody Good Workout, which is aimed at women.
The site also has a broader focus on recovery and wellness, with infrared saunas and Brass Monkey cold plunges in the changing rooms. There's also red light therapy and a recovery area with a hydromassage chair, compression boots, rollers and an InBody scanner, as well as complementary protein shakes and hot beverages.
Gymbox has partnered with personalised meal delivery platform, Calo, which offers high-quality meals that support health and fitness goals.
“Finsbury Park represents a new chapter in Gymbox’s evolution,” says Neil Randall, CEO of Urban Gym Group. “It reflects our ambition to integrate recovery alongside performance, offering a more complete approach to training and improving overall wellbeing, while keeping the DNA of what makes Gymbox a loved brand in London.”
Urban Gym Group also launched its 25th Trainmore site in Amsterdam last week. This boutique-style Red Label location offers high-end equipment, recovery facilities, personal training and curated member services, including complimentary drinks and protein shakes, towel service and a Hyperice recovery zone.
Red Label clubs are community-oriented with limited membership to ensure a more personal training experience. The club in Buitenveldert will operate as a member-only location, while offering access to all regular and Black Label Trainmore club members. Trainmore remains the only gym in the Netherlands where members earn back €1 per workout, reinforcing its mission to incentivise people to work on their well-being.
Randall says: “Opening two new clubs in two countries within one week is a significant milestone for us. It reflects the strength of our growing team – combining the energy of young, ambitious talent we've supported through learning and development, with the expertise of seasoned professionals we’ve brought in from across the fitness industry.
“As demand for Trainmore and Gymbox continues to grow, we remain focused on expanding into iconic locations in London and key cities across the Netherlands. We're open to both greenfield opportunities and acquisitions and we actively encourage property developers, landlords and gym owners to get in touch with us.”
Urban Gym Group CEO, Neil Randall will be a keynote speaker at the HCM Summit in London on 23 October 2025.
To find out more about the full speaker lineup and secure your place, click here.
Urban Gym Group Gymbox Trainmore Neil Randall Ellis Smith Calo Baz Moffat PILAT3SBIG unveils Eve Music Hall as Croatia venue nears completion
Bob Rogers hands BRC to long-serving leadership team
Wellness care hospital opens in Vilnius with innovative spa and hospitality concept
Universal and Puy du Fou projects point to rise of Oxford–Cambridge corridor
A proposed Puy du Fou development near Bicester and Universal Destinations and Experiences’ planned resort in Bedford are emerging as part of a wider transformation of the Oxford–Cambridge Growth Corridor into a major centre for UK leisure and tourism investment.
For years, the corridor has been associated primarily with science, technology, housing and university-led economic growth. However, the clustering of large-scale visitor attraction projects along the
All-inclusive eco-wellness development Auko to open near Vietnam’s Son Doong caves
Shedd Aquarium upgrades its visitor experience with new Immersion Theater
Shedd Aquarium has opened the Immersion Theater developed in partnership with SimEx-Iwerks, as part of a wider strategy to enhance the guest experience and create additional revenue opportunities.
The attraction has transformed the aquarium’s Phelps Auditorium into a multi-sensory venue combining panoramic projection, environmental effects and interactive technology.
A new pre-show area allows visitors to engage with augmented reality marine animals before entering the
MCR is planning a luxury hotel for London's BT Tower
Joy as a radical act: Yinka Ilori launches solo exhibition celebrating the rebellious power of spreading happiness
Work gets underway on Madrid's €800 million leisure complex
Work is underway in Madrid on one of Europe’s most significant multi-functional complexes, combining sport, entertainment, culture and education.
The €800 million initiative to regenerate the former Olympic Aquatic Centre in the north-east of the city, next to the Riyadh Air Metropolitano stadium, is being led by Barsento – a joint venture between Live Nation Entertainment, Oak View Group and Atlético de Madrid. The project will
Therme Manchester reveals 90:90 strategy – 90 per cent of the UK population within a 90-minute drive of a Therme
Four Seasons’ Naples Beach Club opens 2,800sq m Sanctuary spa inspired by indigenous Calusa people
Orient Express Corinthian to host Ocean Rebirth wellness retreat in collaboration with Guerlain
Famed London nightclub, Tramp, launches Tramp Health
First look: Miraval opens on the Red Sea in Saudi Arabia
Hainan Science Museum by Ma Yansong, opens in China
A new science museum has opened to the public in Haikou after attracting more than 350,000 visitors during a four-month soft opening period.
Designed by Ma Yansong and his practice MAD Architects, the Hainan Science Museum is located on the edge of Wuyuan River National Wetland Park and has already recorded peak attendance of more than 5,800 visitors in a single day.
Commissioned by
Zannier Île De Bendor launches with design by Hardel Le Bihan Architectes
Sæl Spa readies for launch in London: “a modern British sanctuary”
Immersive art bathhouse Submersive announces debut location in Austin
Construction begins on regenerative wellness destination The Shenandoah Nature Resort
Royal Caribbean reveals record-breaking cruise ship
V&A East opens in London
David Geffen galleries open at LACMA
New venue The Lands by Capella includes a longevity centre to complement sister hotel Capella Sydney
World of Frozen launches at Disneyland Paris
Pical Resort by Valamar reveals first Croatian spa under the ESPA brand
Mandarin Oriental creates end-to-end Egyptian journey with two new hotels and first-ever luxury river cruise
Designers Mendil + Meyer launch new division called Lām Concepts for strategic wellness projects
Wilderness Bisate in Rwanda reveals brand’s second Sanctuary spa
4a Architekten shares details of wellness extension at Salinarium Bad Dürkheim Thermal Spa
BodyHoliday plans 10-15 locations in the next 15 years
Designed to restore neglected land and renew the identity of Iraq’s capital city, Baghdad Sustainable Forests promises a new way of living surrounded by nature. Gensler’s Ian Mulcahay tells us why he thinks the project could become a model for the repair and enhancement of urban centres
























