From Manchester Oxford Road to Scalable Fitness Assets

A Personal View of the Jetts Journey

The first time I walked into a Jetts gym was at Manchester Oxford Road.

I was meeting James Garner, the Managing Director, 17 years building Starbucks from 50 to 850 outlets, one of the founders of Jetts UK.

It was one of those occasions where something quietly clicked……

It was partly the branding.
It was partly the equipment.
It was partly the location.
It was partly understanding that James knew EVERYTHING in that gym.

Mostly it was the model.

Seeing It Before It Was Obvious

Even at that early stage, a few things stood out:

• The simplicity of the operation

• The absence of unnecessary staffing layers

• The clean, repeatable layout

• The focus on members rather than footfall

It felt… efficient.

Not in a cost-cutting way — but in a designed-for-purpose way.

At the time, most gyms still followed a fairly traditional structure:

• front desk teams

• multiple layers of staff

• complex pricing

• heavy operational overhead

Jetts was doing something different.

The Model Beneath the Gym

What becomes clearer over time is this:

Jetts is not really a “gym business” in the traditional sense.

It is a recurring revenue model with operational leverage.

At its core:

• Membership income is predictable and repeatable

• Staffing is deliberately minimal

• Personal trainers operate flexibly (often rent-based or hybrid)

• Sites can be standardised and scaled

This creates something powerful:

👉 a business that is designed to scale without scaling complexity at the same rate

Why That Matters

In many industries, growth brings friction:

• more people

• more management

• more cost

• more inconsistency

But models like Jetts are built differently.

A typical site may operate with:

• one or two staff

• strong member retention

• consistent layout and systems

As additional sites are added, owners often transition from:

• operator → portfolio builder

At that point, the conversation shifts from:

• “running a gym”

to:

👉 building a multi-site, cash-generating asset base

The Bigger Picture

This is where it becomes interesting.

Because the principles behind Jetts are not unique to fitness.

They are the same principles that underpin:

• scalable technology businesses

• well-structured franchise models

• high-quality recurring revenue companies

And ultimately:

👉 assets that attract strong exit multiples

From Business to Assets

Over the years, I’ve been involved in:

• building and exiting technology companies

• investing in growth businesses

• working with different operational models across sectors

What Jetts represents — at its best — is a modern expression of those same fundamentals:

• clarity of model

• repeatability

• scalability

• and optionality

Today

The fitness sector continues to evolve, but the underlying opportunity remains:

• strong demand

• community-driven engagement

• predictable revenue streams

Combined with the right model, that creates:

👉 not just a business — but a platform for long-term value creation

Final Thought

Looking back at that first visit to Manchester Oxford Road, it’s clear that the real story was never just about the location.

It was about recognising a model that:

• simplifies where others complicate

• scales where others struggle

• and quietly builds value over time

And those are exactly the kinds of models worth paying attention to.

Chris Windley