Five-Storey Equinox Club Plans On Setting A New Standard For London’s Fitness Scene

LONDON, United Kingdom —  Equinox is set to open a five-storey fitness club in London’s Bishopsgate this winter, as it takes its trailblazing high-performance approach to the next level.

Designed to provide respite from the demands of the financial district’s fast-paced lifestyle, the groundbreaking 32,000 square foot club will feature advanced and science-fuelled programming, and include two new-to-market experiences; The Pursuit, an immersive and tech-driven cycling class which uses leaderboard gaming to ignite competition, and the first Equinox signature heated yoga offering.

Its third club in the capital, following the success of Equinox Kensington which opened in 2012 and E by Equinox in St James’s which launched last year, Equinox Bishopsgate will stick to the brand’s tried and tested formula of blending elevated luxury with science-backed programming to bridge the gap between lifestyle and fitness. But also cater to the behaviour of the local community, which Jen Zweibel, Director of UK Operations at Equinox explains, is vastly different from that of its existing locations.

“Equinox Bishopsgate is the brand’s first international corporate club outside of the United States and Canada,” she tells Welltodo.

“And creating a strategy to penetrate through local businesses, which exist within a dense market, is a huge opportunity for us. For the first time, reaching influential figureheads within neighbouring businesses is key and we are excited to anticipate and navigate the varied needs of our future City member.”

Five-Storey Equinox Club Plans On Setting A New Standard For London's Fitness Scene
Image: Equinox Bishopsgate

According to Zweibel, the main challenge with opening in the City revolves around preserving its community’s time. To address that, the idea is to create a seamless member experience that makes every second count. 

“The one hour they carve out for Equinox will be valuable to them,” argues Zweibel. So the club’s mantra of work hard (in the gym), perform harder (in life) is being reimagined to ensure members live a high-performance life both inside and outside of the club. 

“That’s what high performance means to the City – health is the new wealth,” she adds.

From nutrition and sleep coaching, advanced personal training and lifestyle management (Tier X) to regenerative spa treatments, Equinox Bishopsgate will feature all of the high-level services Equinox customers have become accustomed to. 

However, beyond luxury amenities such as chilled eucalyptus towels, a gym-kit laundry service and luxurious locker rooms, the brand’s people, programming and overall experience are what it says will really set the club apart from competitors.

“Each component has been thoughtfully and carefully curated to enhance our members’ performance in the club. And these three elements play a critical role in ensuring results,” Zweibe tells Welltodo.

“We have the opportunity to bring our years’ of experience to the City, and apply the successes and learnings along the way which have helped us to create an unparalleled offering – we are relentless in our pursuit of excellence,” she adds.

For over twenty-five years, Equinox has pushed the boundaries of the health and fitness landscape across the US, Canada and the UK, with its ‘fitness as lifestyle’ model spawning market-leading innovations across multiple industries.

Five-Storey Equinox Club Plans On Setting A New Standard For London's Fitness Scene
Image: Equinox Bishopsgate

By building a portfolio of clubs in London that are equally as inspiring as they are fit for purpose, it now plans on setting a new standard for fitness in the UK’s capital.

“London has scope to be one of Equinox’s largest markets, and we are targeting at least 10 locations in the capital over the next five years,” Danielle Larsen, Vice President of Acquisitions and one of the driving forces behind the brand’s growth in London, tells Welltodo.

“We have great confidence in London and its continued dominance as a global hub for commerce and creativity. But we have a very disciplined approach to growth. It’s about scouting the right space on the right street that is not only highly functional and convenient for our members, but has the wow factor.”

With Equinox Shoreditch set to follow closely behind the City opening in the summer of 2020, its mission continues to gain momentum.