16 Jun 2020
BMF launches Mission Active – offers financial help to PTs wanting to become franchisees
BY Tom Walker
BMF, the outdoor fitness franchise company co-owned by celebrity survivalist Bear Grylls, is launching a new strand of business called Mission Active, designed to help out-of-work fitness professionals to rebuild their businesses.
The £1m initiative will offer direct financial support to personal trainers (PT) and other exercise professionals who want to become BMF franchisees.
"COVID-19 has displaced millions of workers and in the fitness sector, self-employed personal trainers have been very badly hit by the closure of gyms – in many cases seeing the loss of their regular income," said Jan Spaticchia, BMF vice chair.
"When gyms do reopen, they’ll do so with significant restrictions and we anticipate many PTs and fitness professionals will be facing a long period of unemployment.
"As a result, we’ve committed to creating a £1m grant programme to support the first hundred PTs who sign up to launch an outdoor fitness territory with BMF.
"BMF will provide a £10,000 grant to each successful applicant – as part of the Mission Active initiative – supporting them to acquire a BMF territory of their choice.
"In this way, Mission Active will be empowering out of work applicants to become business owners within an industry they’re truly passionate about."
According to Tommy Matthews, BMF's business development director, those wanting to benefit from the scheme will be offered a structured pathway into becoming successful business owners.
"We start with our Enterprise phase, which successfully gets new franchisees into business," he said.
"This phase includes training, business planning support, marketing set up and pre-sales support.
"Once they’re operating within the network, our franchisees benefit from regular training and conference events, along with the backing of a central support team that continues to provide the latest marketing campaigns and business support."
• To read a full interview with the top team of BMF regarding Mission Active, click here for Issue 5 of HCM.
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