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Property developer Piers Slater, founder of property development company Reef Estates, is planning to roll out his H2 Clubs concept in a number of London locations. The first, in Soho, opens in April and will employ 20 people.
H2 is a private members’ club for runners and cyclists. Refurbishment work is currently taking place on a 13,000 sq ft site in Dufours Place in Soho, just off Broadwick Street. This is the site of a former car park.
Slater said: "H2 offers commuters somewhere to freshen up, change, store bikes and clothing, and further improve their fitness and well-being through its gym facilities and additional therapies.
"H2 offers the customer a flexible, high quality approach to health and fitness at very reasonable prices, helping them to stay fit and healthy, keep travel costs low and personal grooming standards high, as well as cutting the capital’s carbon emissions and congestion levels.
"The Department of Transport Cycle to Work Guarantee encourages the provision of proper bike storage, changing facilities and safe cycle routes and H2 provides exactly that. Cycling to work beats public transport, which may be over-crowded, theres no congestion charge to pay and its more sustainable than other forms of transport. Our team has received huge demand from corporate clients employees. Membership to H2 is an easy way for a company to hit carbon reduction targets and please employees."
To keep its carbon footprint as low as possible, H2 is investing in energy-efficient showers, sustainable materials and efficient energy heating systems.
The cost of H2 membership is £27.99 a month for off-peak membership and £39.99 a month for peak, with corporate discounts available. A £29.99 joining fee is being waived in advance of the opening of the first club.
The H2 Club in Soho will offer 230 cycle parking spaces with CCTV coverage, 40 showers and 1,200 lockers. There’s also a spinning studio, a laundry, a bike workshop and a bike shop.
H2 is scheduling a second club in London Wall to open in Summer 2011, with a third site close to being agreed.
