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Sport Life: Development course!

Has plans for the development of the Sport Life fitness club changed in an unstable political and economic situation in the country?

Alexander Stepanov, General Director of Sport Life Development

Photo: Sport Life

Even in conditions of a shaky economic situation, which has been observed in Ukraine for four months, we continue to develop our network of fitness clubs. For example, this year we have already opened five clubs: two in Kyiv and one in Odessa, Lviv and Dnepropetrovsk. By the end of 2014, we planned to open more than 10 clubs, the readiness of which, as of May, reaches 70%. Currently, the Sport Life fitness club in Ukraine unites 35 clubs. In the future, 2014-2016, we plan to expand it to 56 objects.

Today, due to sharp jumps in foreign currencies, many tenants are negotiating with tenants regarding the revision of the lease in the direction of lowering or fixing the exchange rate. Were Sport Life reached any agreements on the revision of the rental fee?

Against the background of the fall of rental rates, 30-50% rental rates that Sport Life pays remain unchanged. Our company stably pays rental payments, despite the crisis and an indefinite situation in the Ukrainian real estate market.

What areas of development are priority for Sport Life today?

Currently, the company is actively developing the Express format-this is fitness clubs with an area of ​​500 m 2. The club of this format does not imply the presence of a pool, so the requirements for it are very simplified. Thanks to this, Sport Life in the Express format can be implemented in absolutely any building-a business center, a shopping and entertainment center or a separate building.

It is also worth noting that we continue to expand our metropolitan and regional network. The company made it a rule not to limit ourselves to one large club in a certain area of ​​the city, so we continue to look for partners for the construction of 5-7 Express format clubs in different areas of the city.

Fitness club Sport Life on the street. Dragomanova, 40, Kyiv

Photo: Sport Life

What types of premises are interesting to you for rent: in the structure of the shopping center, BCs or separate buildings?

In general, Sport Life is one of the most significant “anchors” for almost any type of real estate, regardless of functional purpose.Therefore, we rent areas both in shopping centers and in business centers, residential complexes and simply in separate buildings. At the same time, we always focus on the most mutually beneficial cooperation with the lessor. For example, Sport Life, located in the shopping and entertainment center, enriches the entertainment component of the complex and forms an additional flow of solvent customers. At the same time, our company can rent illiquid areas or sites on the last floors of the shopping center, where one of the three developed formats can place the fitness club-“Business”, “Premium” or “Express”. Thus, more than 120,000 Sport Life customers automatically become visitors to this shopping and entertainment center.

Sport Life rental in the business center automatically increases the liquidity of the office building. In this case, world experience plays a role: international companies for rent choose an BC with a fitness club, as this allows them to save on social guarantees and at the same time increase the productivity of employees.

As well as in the shopping center, in the business centers, Sport Life rents unlimited areas-in this case, on the lower floors of the building.

Sport Life Fitness Club on 46 Mayakovsky Avenue, Kyiv

Photo: Sport Life

As for residential complexes, we practice renting space even at the initial stages of the construction of the facility. This is beneficial not only to us as a tenant, but also to a developer who instantly receives additional investments. The buyer, in turn, receives a 100 percent guarantee of the commissioning of the facility, because if the Sport Life fitness club is already being built in the building, the developer will not be able to abandon his obligations.

The Sport Life network also rents large areas with a volume of 3,000 to 5000 m 2 in separate buildings, thus developing social infrastructure in areas of complex development, increasing their attractiveness for the population.