From the Founders

 

Tim Fox: Co-founder

I started in business at a young age inspired by my self-employed, entrepreneur father. Seeing what he achieved while I was growing up had a massive influence on me. In 2019, Devin and I took the plunge to start our own gym in Petone. We identified a gap in the market for a space where our members could avoid the masses and feel at home. Our success in Petone gave us the ability to open a second location in Tawa in 2022, which set the precedent for some much larger goals for the Fitness Portal brand. We’re now proudly introducing a franchise model, with our next franchisee, Auckland, set to open its doors this October.

 

Devin Glover: Co-founder

Since I was young, I knew I wanted to make people happy and help people. I thought that meant making people laugh and performing, so I started a career in radio. When I was in my mid-20s, I started working in a gym as a personal trainer. That’s where I found out what I really wanted; it was to help people find happiness and confidence in themselves. When Tim came to me to start the Fitness Portal Petone, I knew this was the beginning of something great. My goal in life is to give back, and the Fitness Portal, I believe, is the key to this.

 

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The next stage in our development of the brand is to go bigger and better than ever before. That’s why we’ve created a franchise model for Fitness Portal. By implementing this model, we have the ability to open many more Fitness Portal facilities all around the country with a network of franchisees who share our passion. The franchises will be managed by Fitness Portal HQ Limited, the overarching company we’ve set up to own the brand.

 

To help Fitness Portal HQ have the capital needed to invest in new franchises, we have decided to equity crowdfund through PledgeMe. We want to not only share our vision with you, we want you to have the chance to own your very own piece of Fitness Portal HQ. We are inviting you to invest, so our legacy, that started in little old Petone, could be accessible nationwide and beyond.

 

- Tim & Devin.

 

 

Introducing: Fitness Portal HQ Limited

Fitness Portal HQ is our new headquarters, the overarching company to all Fitness Portal franchises. This entity will own a minimum 5% stake of every franchise under the Fitness Portal brand, with first rights to purchase more shares of each franchise, and the ability to offer low rate start up loans for franchisees.

Fitness Portal HQ is responsible for companywide marketing, as well as setting policies & procedures, and providing continuous operational support to all Fitness Portal franchises. Fitness Portal HQ will receive monthly royalties and marketing fees from each franchise, along with dividend payments.

We have started the initial legal work to set up this model, including the transfer of 5% of Fitness Portal Wellington shares into Fitness Portal HQ. We have franchise agreements in place for our Wellington facilities, and the new Auckland facility set to open in October 2023.

Read our full Information Memorandum here

 

Why we’re crowdfunding

 

It is our goal to bring the next generation of top-tier gyms to more of New Zealand. Using a franchise model, it is our aim to grow off the foundation that Fitness Portal was built on.

Our 5-year goal for Fitness Portal HQ is to expand country-wide, region by region.

Through this equity crowdfunding campaign, we hope to raise enough capital to invest in future Fitness Portal franchises around the country and have the ability to assist with the development our current facilities.

Our Point of Difference

 

The Fitness Portal Brand

A Fitness Portal facility is more than a gym. Fitness Portal is a Kiwi owned brand that provides facilities with a modern, clean aesthetic that focus on giving back to members. With top tier service, along with high quality equipment - all without sacrificing the luxury of space. We believe the Fitness Portal is the first gym model that offers the whole package in one place. Human connection, expert staff, affordable memberships, and a homely environment. We aim for the Fitness Portal to be your one-stop shop on the road to health & wellness, and your home away from home.

 

The Franchise

The Fitness Portal HQ point of difference is that we plan to work alongside our franchisees, to ensure they grow efficiently & successfully. We understand that this is unlike typical franchise agreements, where a franchisee may be left to their business after purchasing the rights. Our success is defined by the success of our franchisees.

 

What we've achieved

More than a gym.

 

We started with a dream; to create something different in the fitness industry, where a member is not just another number. A facility where members can connect and feel at home, something that was more than just a gym.

 

And so began Fitness Portal Petone – an intimate, boutique style gym that encourages genuine connections between members, an encouraging environment where people from all walks of life are proudly crushing their health & fitness goals.

 

Fast-forward a few years (don’t forget to throw in a pandemic) and with some sweat & a few tears, we have proudly expanded this dream to create Fitness Portal Tawa.

 

The next step for the Fitness Portal brand is an exciting one! Creating Fitness Portal HQ to drive the set up of new facilities, and we’re so excited to invite you along for the ride.

 

Our Share Offer

We are offering a minimum of 150,000 shares and up to a maximum of 250,000 shares which will equate to a total of 13% (at minimum raise) and 20% (at maximum raise) of the shares in Fitness Portal HQ Limited.

Our pre-money valuation is $1,000,000 and was completed by the directors. The minimum individual investment is $250 for 250 non-voting shares at $1 each. Those investing $50,000 or more will receive Ordinary Shares. Ordinary Shares will have the same rights as existing shareholders in Fitness Portal HQ Limited, including the right to vote at shareholders’ meetings.

The non-voting shares do not give the holder the right to vote at meetings of shareholders. In very limited circumstances (to ensure the shareholder’s core rights are protected) each non-voting share gives the holder the right to one vote.

The constitution sets out other terms that will apply to any shareholding in Fitness Portal HQ Limited. You should read the constitution before pledging for shares.

Find more detail about the classes of shares and our current shareholding in our full investment document.

Strategic Growth Plan

 

It is our aim to strategically grow throughout the country as we team up with potential owner/operators.

We have already seen interest in many regions, such as a second Auckland facility, Hamilton, Christchurch, Queenstown & Kapiti. Our goal is to expand into a new location at a minimum of one new franchise every 12-18 months.

Location decisions would come down to a few factors, firstly having an appropriate owner/operator/franchisee applicant. Another major decision will be if we believe there is feasibility in a particular region for a Fitness Portal to grow, this decision will be based on market research performed around factors such as the number of competitors vs. population & population growth estimates of the area.

The estimated upfront cost to a new franchisee is approximately $450-$1M to set up a new franchise, depending on size, location & fit out costs. This amount does not include ongoing lease agreements or equipment rental costs.

 

Potential opportunities

• AUCKLAND CITY 2.0 - There is huge opportunity for a second location within Auckland, with over 1 million residents. Auckland has the most potential for fast growth and is a great place to create awareness of the Fitness Portal brand. POPULATION: 1.47M | CURRENT GYMS: 29
• CHRISTCHURCH - The central hub of the South Island and is the fastest growing city outside of the Auckland region, with estimates of hitting a population of 800,000 in the near future. Some are saying Christchurch is our next ‘super city.’ POPULATION: 400,366 | CURRENT GYMS: 14
• QUEENSTOWN - Well, because EVERYBODY LOVES QT! But seriously, Queenstown is know as New Zealand’s ‘Adventure Captial’. With the huge sporting & tourism community Queenstown boasts, all it needs is a gym with the Fitness Portal’s values, catering to long & short term members. POPULATION: 154,617 | UP TO 1.5M TOURISTS ANNUALLY | CURRENT GYMS: 11
• TAUPO - The centre of the North Island, and another growing city, Taupo is currently an unsaturated market, with hardly any choice for gyms. Taupo has the opportunity for huge member base of long term & short-term members due to it’s huge rate of annual visitors. POPULATION: 21,291 | UP TO 3M TOURISTS ANNUALLY | CURRENT GYMS: 6
• KAPITI - It is predicted that Kapiti will grow by 40% by 2050 and has already grown substantially over the last 10 years. With Petone and Tawa, a great next step towards expanding in the Wellington Region would be to follow the sun to the Kapiti Coast. POPULATION: 37,347 | CURRENT GYMS: 11
• UPPER HUTT - A highly requested area to open a Fitness Portal! And after the success of Tawa (with a population of 10,000 people) we believe Upper Hutt to be a very solid location option! POPULATION: 38,415 | CURRENT GYMS: 11

Read our full Information Memorandum here

 

Use of Funds

• Marketing: will go towards marketing, specifically aimed at possible franchisees around NZ. (10%)
• Cashflow: will go towards cashflow for HQ, for operating costs such as legal costs, accounting & staff costs.(15%)
• Facility upgrades & loans: will go towards low interest loans for upgrading current facilities and start up capital. (25%)
• New Franchises: will go towards share purchases of the next two new Fitness Portal franchises at $62,500 per franchise. (50%)

Financial Information

Profit & loss

You can read our profit and loss assumptions in our full investment document here.

Balance sheet

 

Our team

 

TIMOTHY FOX: Director of HQ, Chief Executive Officer

As CEO of Fitness Portal HQ, my role is vital to the continuation and expansion of the brand, by working with the team to steer the ship in the desired direction. It is my job to essentially help drive everyone's roles to achieve the KPI’s we all set.

 

Fitness Portal has proven itself a successful business model catering to a wide range of clients. We have identified a gap in the New Zealand market for a facility of this calibre, sharing the values of the existing brand further around the country.

Fitness Portal is already highly regarded within athlete and influencer circles, as well as the general population who are shying away from overcrowded facilities.

 

Our current members also have the added benefit of accessing all existing and future locations. We see significant opportunities in NZ to further establish the Fitness Portal brand.

 

PAIGE HOLTOM: Chief Financial / Operations Officer

My love for Fitness Portal began when I first walked in the doors as a member of the Petone gym in 2020.

 

In 2022, Devin & Tim approached me to help them open the Tawa facility, and it’s been the best career decision of my life. Prior to this, my background was largely in hospitality management & event management, which has shaped me to be an empathetic, yet strong leader. This along with my experience in finance made me the perfect candidate for the CFOO position within Fitness Portal HQ, so I made the switch.

 

As CFOO of Fitness Portal HQ, my role is to manage the high-level comms to all clubs and oversee direct operations. I create and implement all of the franchise wide systems and procedures. A large part of my day to day is managing the HQ financials and overseeing the financial & operational aspect of franchisees. I am focused on maintaining and increasing the efficiency of the entire franchise, utilising my strong skills in problem- solving, decision-making & leadership.

 

TAYLOR BLACKLER: Director of HQ, Creative Director

My background is in content creation, marketing and business. From an early age, I watched my father build businesses in a range of different industries, so I learnt first- hand what makes or breaks a business.

 

After running my own start-up marketing agency, I decided to join Tim & Devin at the Fitness Portal Tawa as Head Coach in 2022. My experience in the marketing industry combined with start-up business experience has made me the perfect candidate for my new role within Fitness Portal HQ.

 

As Creative Director of Fitness Portal HQ, I oversee all marketing & content creation, and anything that represents the brands image. The purpose behind Fitness Portal's marketing is to expose the brand in the most authentic way possible and in doing so, help create a community that stands with the brand. I have a different view on marketing than most, I believe in creating real content for real people to enjoy. .

 

DEVIN GLOVER: Director of HQ, Executive Coach

Ever since I was young, I have been active. Playing in a range of sports from Tennis to Underwater Hockey and now Olympic Weightlifting. If it involved competition and moving my body, I wanted to be part of it.

 

So how did this lead to me becoming Executive Coach of the Fitness Portal HQ? With a strong desire to help people, my natural leadership qualities, and my experience in wide range of sports, I knew this position was my calling. My goal in life is to help people find their own confidence. As a personal trainer myself, I can only help 20-30 people at a time. But if I can help 20-30 personal trainers, there is an unlimited amount of people I can help.

 

My role as Executive Coach of Fitness Portal HQ is all about helping the personal trainers associated with our brand have the best opportunity to be the best they can be, by creating support systems and structure to what has previously been a "solo" endeavour. Our personal trainers are a team, and I am their captain.

 

Read our full Information Memorandum here

 

Risks &Mitigations

• Recession / Economy down-turn - Constantly keeping an eye on the current economy, and an eye on our cashflow forecasts. Health and Fitness is also becoming top of mind for many New Zealanders, so through empathetic communication we will aim to make sure our members understand how important it is to keep exercising.
• International pandemics - After Covid-19 in 2020, we created a Covid-19 contingency plan. So if New Zealand were to have another lock down, we would refer to our contingency plan, using tools such as online training and putting through lock down protocols.
• Natural disasters - To Natural Disaster insurance will be in place for each gym, and HQ will have a contingency plan to help all Franchisees should this occur.
• Loss of key staff - Having policies & procedures in place that are easily executable. All key staff within HQ will have access to and know these policies & procedures like the back of their hand.
• Travel risk - Having business travel insurance & utilising flexi-fares where possible for flights. We will build out our travel risk management strategy, which will largely depend on which destinations employees are going to and accounting for changes in the near future.
• Lack of capitalisation/cashflow - By weighing the business’s needs and regularly reviewing our financial statements including cashflow statements and forecasts, as well as reviewing outgoing expenses regularly and creating an emergency budget to accommodate unexpected expenses.
• Lack of performance by franchisee - By setting clear expectations & ensuring the franchisee has the appropriate resources for training and support. As well as having effective strategies and tools to monitor, evaluate, and address franchisee performance issues in a timely and constructive manner.

 

Note from PledgeMe

We have completed Equifax checks on the Fitness Portal HQ and their Directors, as well as Google and Insolvency checks. There were no adverse findings.