We are delighted to announce that The Gym Group, one of Bridges Ventures’ investee companies, has achieved 15th place in the prestigious The Sunday Times 100 Best Small Companies to Work For list, the UK’s most extensive research into employee engagement and which honours the 100 Best Small Companies to Work For.  Most notably, The Gym Group achieved the top Three Star Accreditation standard, declaring the company an ‘extraordinary’ employer.

The Best Companies survey used a wide range of criteria to measure each of the 896 companies on issues affecting employees in the UK today.  These included how employees felt about the head of the company and its senior managers, sharing the company’s values and principles and the balance between their work and home duties.

This achievement follows The Gym Group’s success in being ranked no. 13 in the Sunday Times Fast Track 100 published in December 2012 which recognised The Gym Group as one of the fastest growing companies.  It is also the only group operator in the fitness sector to be accredited by Investors in People, being especially commended for high motivation and energy levels displayed by the staff team.

John Treharne, Chief Executive says: “We are particularly pleased and proud with our inclusion and position in this highly regarded survey. We work tirelessly to ensure that The Gym Group is a satisfying and rewarding place to work. It is part of our ethos to have our employees engaged, enjoying their work and striving for the best results for our customers. In turn our employees and experienced management team have grown the business to its current 32 high quality sites and market leadership in the low cost health and fitness market. We are delighted that the success of our employees has been recognised in this way.”

The Gym Group is the UK’s largest affordable gym chain, offering 24 hour access for as little as £10.99 per month.  The company currently operates 32 gyms with plans to open 50 by the end of 2013.

The Sunday Times 100 Best Small Companies to Work for used the following criteria to measure each of the 896 companies that entered: How employees feel about the head of the company and its senior managers; how staff feel about the stress; pressure and the balance between their work and home duties; how much companies are thought of by their staff to put back into society generally and the local community; to what extent staff feel they are stretched and challenged by their job; how staff feel towards their immediate boss and day-to-day managers; feelings about the company people work for as opposed to the people they work with; how staff feel about their immediate colleagues and how happy the workforce is with their pay and benefits.