The énergie Group has shot past its £500,000 target on Crowdcube, reaching the milestone with a whole week to spare.

The gym chain, which has 93 fitness clubs trading across the UK and Europe, was swamped with interest from investors eager to grab a slice of the 3.23 per cent equity on offer, against a company valuation of £15m.

The company has now opted to overfund for the remainder of its listing, with additional equity available until 30 May. énergie Group chair and CEO Jan Spaticchia told Health Club Management the firm was “delighted” to have reached the target with time to spare and said that the board had taken the decision to overfund as a number of potential investors were still eager to buy in and had been planning to do so in the final week of the fund.

The fund was driven by a number of high-profile investors, chief among these being serial entrepreneur Lara Morgan, who bought a £100,000 stake in the business. Morgan, who founded toiletries distributor Pacific Direct before later selling her majority stake for £20m, is an avid triathlete with a passion for fitness.

“I only consider investing in businesses that are ethical and which make a difference to people’s lives,” said Morgan, who has holdings in leisure firms including KitBrix, Activbod and Dryrobe.

“I’m convinced that énergie has the capability both to meet its ambitious growth targets and to help many thousands of people lead a more active and healthier life.”

Besides Morgan, énergie is understood to have attracted investment from a number of high profile leisure industry figures, including former ukactive CEO David Stalker. The high-profile industry endorsements come just weeks after it was announced that original énergie investor and leisure grandee Steve Philpott had joined the company’s board. Philpott and the rest of the énergie board, including Spaticchia, have all reinvested via the Crowdcube listing.