Promote steers First Leisure fitness PR

Nightclubs, health and fitness and bowling group First Leisure has

hired Promote PR to handle consumer and trade PR for its chain of 18

fitness clubs.

Promote is First Leisure Health and Fitness division’s first retained PR

agency, and has been hired on six-figure fees following a three way

pitch.

The agency has been briefed to raise the image of First Leisure’s clubs

on a national and regional basis and increase membership.

The health division has used agencies in the past on an ad hoc

basis.

The award follows a recent company restructuring which saw First Leisure

sell its bingo and resorts division to concentrate on nightclubs, health

and fitness and bowling centres.

Health and Fitness reported an 18 per cent jump in sales in the six

months to October 31.

There are currently 18 clubs in the group, which operate under the brand

names Esporta Health and Fitness, Country Raquet, Health Clubs,

Riverside clubs, and Esprit clubs. They have a membership of 60,000

between them.

The company will have opened four clubs by the end of this year and

plans to open seven in 1999.

First Leisure group public relations manager Ian Freeman said the agency

had been briefed to target the lifestyle press, women’s magazines and

the quality men’s fashion magazines like GQ and Esquire.

The company’s biggest rival is David Lloyd Leisure, owned by Whitbread,

which has 26 fitness centres across the UK.