5 min read
October 11, 2023
We are so excited to announce that Gymfinity Kids and Beth Tweddle Gymnastics are combining to become a children’s activity powerhouse!
The combined group will have 11 clubs, a number of community venues across England and 14,000 members! Beth Tweddle MBE and her team will be joining Gymfinity Kids with Beth Tweddle Gymnastics schools and local community programme to be extended to all Gymfinity Kids clubs.
Press Release: 11th October 2023
Gymfinity Kids has acquired Beth Tweddle Gymnastics making it the UK’s largest children’s gymnastics provider.
Both Gymfinity Kids and Beth Tweddle Gymnastics were founded with the ambition to support the health and well-being of children through fun, structured classes led by passionate and experienced coaches. Gymfinity Kids opened its first club in 2017 and has since expanded to nine clubs across Southern and Eastern England, each providing on average 220 gymnastics, Ninja, dance and preschool classes per week. The business has seen significant growth in the last 12 months with membership increasing 60% and aims to open a further 30 clubs in the next four years.
Beth Tweddle Gymnastics was founded in 2010 by Olympic Medallist Beth Tweddle MBE to provide gymnastics classes for children aged 2+ years at its venues across the North of England. Beth Tweddle Gymnastics also runs a successful National Curriculum programme to improve the provision of gymnastics in many schools local to its venues, alongside upskilling the teachers through training.
Following the acquisition, the Beth Tweddle Gymnastics Centres in Widnes and Bolton will be rebranded as Gymfinity Kids and be incorporated into the business, creating a group of 11 clubs nationwide with approximately 14,000 members.
In addition to the 11 clubs, there will also be community venues and a National Curriculum programme in schools surrounding the clubs. Beth Tweddle MBE and her team will all join Gymfinity Kids, with Beth becoming a Brand Ambassador for the group and Director of the local community and National Curriculum programmes, which will be rolled out at each of Gymfinity Kids’ clubs.
The expansion of the National Curriculum programme has never been more important. Recent reports from the Sport England Active Lives survey worryingly showed that less than 50% of primary school-age children are achieving an “active” level of physical exercise each day.
Improving the provision of physical education (PE) is high on the government’s agenda, having recently published a new strategy for the future of sport and physical activity called Get Active. The combined Gymfinity Kids and Beth Tweddle Gymnastics group will seek to engage with the government to join businesses, communities and schools to deliver opportunities for more children to get active.
Jacques De Bruin, Managing Director of Gymfinity Kids, said: “At Gymfinity Kids we are all passionate about getting children to lead more active lifestyles and to form healthy habits, which helps to support their mental and physical health. Over the last few years, Gymfinity Kids has built great momentum, increasing our membership base and opening new clubs to make gymnastics, Ninja and dance classes accessible to even more children.
“When the opportunity to work with Beth Tweddle Gymnastics presented itself we jumped at it. Our existing members will benefit from Beth’s unrivalled experience as a gymnast and a coach, we’re adding two new brilliant clubs with strong membership bases into the business and we plan to roll out the Beth Tweddle Gymnastics community and schools programmes to schools around our existing clubs, supporting even more children to learn to love being active.
“As a combined group we’ll be the largest children’s gymnastics operator in the UK – this is an exciting platform to build from and to continue expanding in the years ahead. We welcome the government’s renewed focus on improving children’s activity levels through its Get Active strategy and welcome opportunities to work together to provide more opportunities for children to exercise inside and outside school.”
Beth Tweddle MBE, founder of Beth Tweddle Gymnastics, said: “Beth Tweddle Gymnastics was founded with an ambition to inspire a generation and to create opportunities for every child to get involved in gymnastics. I’m really proud of everything we’ve achieved as a business and the impact we’ve had on tens of thousands of children who have developed a passion for gymnastics at our Centres, Academy venues and National Curriculum Schools.
“By joining Gymfinity Kids we’re embarking on a new chapter for the business. We are joining a group with the scale, resources and commitment to help us realise our ambition – it’s a really exciting prospect and I am looking forward to working with the team as we continue to expand. Active children are happier and healthier, and gymnastics is a fun and rewarding way to get active. I can’t wait to help inspire the next generation of gymnastic enthusiasts!”
Both businesses offer children a free taster session which can be booked at www.gymfinitykids.com or www.bethtweddlegymnastics.co.uk.
