A personal trainer turned fitness mogul reveals why so many gyms in the UK are ‘failing’ their members and how he is tackling the crisis with his fast-growing business.
Speaking to GB News, Transform Hub founder and CEO James Calderbank broke down how he ended up operating dozens of gyms across the country and his ambitious plan to have 100 locations in the near future.
The Preston-born entrepreneur began her career as a one-to-one personal trainer, but it didn’t take long before she discovered a recurring issue among clients.
Mr Calderbank said: “Most of the fitness industry was created to fail people. Getting people to train and access gyms wasn’t the issue, motivating people was.”
A gym owner breaks down how many gyms ‘fail their members’ and what makes a difference
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That initial disappointment would shape the foundations of Transform Hub, a fast-growing UK fitness franchise built around accountability, community and repeatable systems rather than a traditional gym membership.
Mr. Calderbank’s transition from personal training to group training proved to be an important step in laying the foundations for his future business. He found that clients were more consistent, and ultimately more successful, when they trained alongside others in a structured environment.
“Going to group training changed everything. It created accountability, structure and an environment where people could really succeed,” explained the businessman.
These results soon led to the growth of a commercial gym where he worked. The opening of its site in Preston marked the first step in scaling up what was to be a fundamentally different model.
He added: “From day one, the goal wasn’t another gym. It was to fix what was broken in fitness because most people don’t exercise, fitness fails them. The biggest challenge was changing people’s mindsets. We’re not selling access to the gym. We’re selling in a completely different way.”
According to Mr. Calderbank, said approach runs counter to many traditional industry narratives, which often emphasize intensity and motivation for long-term sustainability.
The Transform Hub founder said: “The industry encourages intensity and motivation, when in fact it’s stability and a great environment that creates results. It’s easy to get results when you’re hands-on, but it’s harder to create something that works without you.”
While discussing when the business really started to take off, Mr. Calderbank pointed to the defining moment when these systems began to deliver consistent results across multiple locations.
The gym chain now has 40 locations in the UK
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The fitness mogul plans to expand its 40-strong gym network to 100 locations across the country.
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“The turning point was when the results were about me. We saw the same results, client results, retention, and experience in many places.”
This continuity opened up the franchise model, allowing Transform Hub to scale nationally: “At the end of the day, access isn’t the problem: results are. If you can consistently deliver results, you can scale.”
Like many consumer businesses, Transform Hub is operating in a more challenging economic environment with a tighter cost of living, rising tax responsibilities and more prudent spending.
However, Mr Calderbank believes it has exposed weaknesses in the traditional low-cost gym model: “People don’t cut back on fitness, they cut out what doesn’t work. Cheap fitness is expensive if it doesn’t work.”
Rather than competing on price, the business has focused on delivering value through training, accountability, and community — areas it believes drive long-term sustainability.
In the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic and the cost of living, Mr Calderbank admits people are “more selective now” when it comes to spending money on their fitness.
He shared: “They ask, ‘Is this really going to work?’ People don’t want guesses. They want structure, direction and results. This is where most traditional gyms fall short.”
Even in the face of massive franchise growth, Mr Calderbank insists the most profitable aspect of the business has been the impact rather than the scale of Transform Hub.
Ms Calderbok believes ‘cheap fitness is expensive’ if it doesn’t work for clients
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“It’s not about growth. We help individuals fully understand how they feel about themselves, and build communities around health and support.”
The model also extends to franchises, offering a path to business ownership with systems designed to avoid burnout: “Most business owners don’t have freedom. They’ve just hired themselves. We’ve built something different.”
Mr. Calderbank’s approach to systems is also shaped by his personal experience. He has been diagnosed with ADHD, which he says has affected how he develops and organizes his business.
Running the Transform Hub day-to-day alongside her friend Katie added another dimension to the journey: “It’s not always easy. But creating something has strengthened our relationship and made the journey more meaningful.”
For those looking to start a franchise business in 2026, Mr. Calderbank’s advice is clear: focus on building systems and avoid shortcuts.
“Don’t build a business that depends on you. If it always needs you, you haven’t built a business, you’ve built a job. Trying to win is low-level competition as a cheap option. Build something that really works, pay for it properly, and buy it back.”
“The fitness industry doesn’t have a marketing problem. It has a retention problem. If you can deliver consistent results, keep people long-term, and build a team that takes ownership, you’re worth scaling.”
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