Many new homes developments today – especially apartment blocks in towns and cities – offer their residents state-of-the-art leisure facilities, a relatively recent idea in the UK. Nick Sadler, founder of one of the pioneering providers of this type of facility, motive8, speaks exclusively to Whathouse.com about what his company does and some of the projects they have worked on recently.
Hi Nick, please tell us a little about yourself and Motive8
I lived in the US for three and a half years and, regardless of which state I was living in, my apartment block always had some sort of leisure facility. It was upon moving back to the UK, I realised how far ahead the States was, as I couldn’t find anywhere that had leisure facilities within the building – and that was the start of motive8!
I founded motive8 in 2000, starting off as a specialist personal training company. Today, motive8 is a global organisation and proud to be a market leader in the design and installation of residential and corporate health and fitness facilities. We work within the residential, corporate, student, PRS (private rental sector) and education sectors.
I am the lead gym and spa consultant on most projects, working with developers, architects, interior design agencies and managing agents on a variety of prestigious residential and commercial schemes. My role is to advise on all aspects of a project’s design, to ensure that original design concepts are always met or exceeded, as well as ensuring the future operational efficiency of the facility.
How has your business grown as a result of the growth of the new build property market?
My first ever fit-out was a Barratt Homes site in Sutton. Back then, gyms tended to be allocated to an area of the build that couldn’t be used as accommodation for one reason or another (usually that the space is quite compromised and lacked natural light). I came up with a plan on how they could turn it into a bespoke leisure facility and therefore boost the appeal of the whole scheme to prospective buyers.
Over time, developers have noticed an increasing demand from buyers and renters for on-site leisure facilities, so they have increased their budget and developed their proposition with a dedicated space in mind. Gyms are now regularly one of the first elements of a scheme to be considered, often allocated a prime position within the scheme – facilities have come out of the basement and onto the ground or first floor – and sometimes even penthouse level – giving users beautiful views when they work out!
Can you tell us about the current demand for leisure facilities within residential buildings?
The last recession saw a decline in overall property development so, like everything else, the volume of leisure facilities being built declined. Following the economic recovery, the demand came back quite aggressively, almost as if people needed to prove it was over, by creating extravagant facilities as a way to attract buyers and renters.
The difference, post-crash, was that many developers became wary of another collapse and began looking for ways of ‘recession-proofing’ their new sites, which is why we are seeing an increase in build-to-rent (BTR) developers springing to life and, in turn, coming to us for installations, to bring the rental market on par with the sales market.
Currently, the market is probably in the best place it has ever been for us; there is a huge demand for leisure facilities and, although we’re still behind America, we’re catching up fast. Residential buildings in America offer everything you can imagine, solely for those who live in the building and that is something we’re seeing more of over here. Not only do they give residents an alternative to paying out for a monthly gym subscription that they then have to travel to, it’s also creating a social environment, somewhere residents can meet and get to know one another.
Can we have some examples of sites you have worked on or the major developers you’ve worked with?
We recently completed our second Taylor Wimpey installation at its Battersea Exchange development. The resident’s gym facility was over a year in the making. We worked alongside the client to develop all aspects of the gym facility, including layout, equipment supply and the supply and fit of a specialist gym flooring, mirrors and bespoke window manifestations.
Another project is Canary Central, which was originally developed in 2004 by Galliard Homes on the old Tate & Lyle sugar factory site in the heart of London Docklands ‘Millennium Quarter’. The scheme is hugely popular with those working in the financial district, and after a hard day crunching numbers, residents of the development have exclusive use of the onsite Canary Central Spa, which includes a 15.5m swimming pool, Jacuzzi, sauna and fully-equipped gym with changing facilities. motive8 was instructed to manage the refurbishment of the gym, which re-opened in December 2016, just in time for the New Year health kick!
Dollar Bay by Mount Anvil is another impressive example of how you can transform a space into a motivating workout environment. motive8 began working with the developer at the end of 2015, ensuring we could support and guide the client throughout the entire design process. The design was finalised in the summer of 2017 with install shortly after in October. Unhindered by neighbouring buildings, Dollar Bay’s prime location at the foot of the South Dock makes for spectacular, unmatched views and the gym benefits fully from its raised position.
We understand that you are looking to expand your services further into the PRS and BTR sector – have you worked on any current build-to-rent schemes you can tell us about?
We recently worked with Grainger PLC on a development in Barking, called Abbeville Apartments. The development is one of the first buildings in the UK that has been designed specifically for renting. The 100 new homes and the communal areas come with a multitude of features that ensure renters have everything they need to feel at home. For this project, we helped plan and advise on the leisure space during construction, which included producing 2D and 3D layouts of facilities. Once built, we created bespoke gym signage in line with the scheme’s branding and procured all of the equipment and mirrors. Since completion of the site, we have an ongoing contract with Grainger PLC to maintain and service the leisure facilities.
Swimming pools and gyms evoke ideas of luxury homes – is that really the case, or are these becoming more mainstream?
Swimming pools not only cost a lot to fit but also to maintain. We are seeing fewer and fewer swimming pools in residential multi-dwelling buildings. They are a grey area for the residential market, as they can be very dangerous if not maintained correctly, due to the chemicals which keep the water clean, and they really should be supervised by a trained lifeguard at all times. Gyms and fitness centres on the other hand are becoming a real asset for developers, while residents, whether buying or renting, are almost coming to expect that a new apartment building will offer its own facilities.
What about the affordable housing market – what demand is there from housing associations?
Until now the affordable housing market has been on the fence about whether to add in leisure facilities to their developments but we’re seeing a few moving with the times and looking to follow the trend, as there is absolutely no reason why the affordable market can’t branch out and create functional leisure facilities for residents for a reasonable price.
Again, most apartment buildings will have a space deemed unusable for residential purposes but is ideal for turning into a bespoke gym. As part of our services we offer the option to each of our clients to lease the leisure equipment. This not only minimises the expense of creating a gym, which is great for housing associations, but also means that the building can have brand new equipment every five years as part of the lease agreement.
Are there any trends you have noticed personally in recent years, both across the market and when being asked to design the leisure facilities?
I go back to America every year to see family and friends. Whilst there, I like to visit a few residential blocks to keep up with the leisure trends, as the market is still ahead of where we are in the UK. One of the biggest trends emerging from the US in recent years is something known as ‘virtual fitness’. This is where you have a ‘dry’ studio with a big screen at the front, which displays virtual fitness classes. Some buildings will have a timetable, similar to a regular gym, and others will allow you to select a virtual class and book in a session to suit. We’re also finding that a lot of people want a personal training session every so often, but instead of having a one-to-one, they will split the cost with a few of their peers and do a boot-camp-style workout each week. Again, boot camps are extremely popular across the pond!
Can you tell us a little about what you do for private clients?
Private clients are a lot of fun to create a space for. The initial meeting is usually an evening, sat in the client’s living room with a drink and some plans. I usually find that it is the homeowners plus one of their older children who attend and each will tell me what they want from this new space we’re going to create. I really enjoy these projects because everyone has completely different ideas about how they want it to look and what they want to get out of it, so private work is about combining completely different ideas in a way that works perfectly for every end user. They can also have some very random requests, for example yoga mats from another country, and I just love sourcing things like that, as it’s so different!
Finally, do you have any ideas on what would be your ‘dream project’?
My aim is to design a hotel around the best leisure facilities in the UK. I’d like to take an old hotel somewhere in the North West, and completely refurbish it and transform it into a place people from all over the world could visit to use state-of-the-art leisure facilities. Having travelled extensively, I have yet to find or stay in a hotel where I wouldn’t make any changes to the leisure and fitness studio service and offering!