The Spa Life UK Convention returns from 21–23 June 2026 at Whittlebury Park Hotel, Spa &
Golf Resort, bringing together spa managers, directors and owners for two days of focused
education, meaningful connection and commercial insight. ... more
Chipp plans to use CycleBar as a launch platform for other Xponential Fitness models across the UK
Tell us about your background In my early career, health and fitness had been a “side gig”. I come from a family business in the food industry and was always heavily involved in the nutrition side of wellness. You could class me as a fitness “heavy user”; I’ve always been passionate about using functional fitness to get performance gains in sport.
I took the plunge professionally into boutique fitness in 2014 after completing an MBA at London Business School and being exposed to the trends in the market in London, New York and Dubai. I took an indoor cycling instructor certification in 2015 and haven’t looked back since.
You’ve become the master franchisor for CycleBar in the UK. Why CycleBar? I was in the process of designing an indoor cycling concept for the UK and came across CycleBar as part of my global diligence. At that stage, they’d opened 30 studios (now 130). I loved the concept and immediately saw that the values of the business were a great fit with my own. I could see the way the company was going to develop and decided a deal with CycleBar was a great opportunity to bring the world’s leading indoor cycling studio brand to the UK.
What is CycleBar’s USP? It’s all about the experience, from the inclusive, premium service for all ages and fitness levels, to the fun of riding classes led by trained CycleStar instructors in an immersive CycleTheatre with professionally engineered audio, video and lighting technology, custom CycleBeats playlists and CycleStats that track cycling performance and growth. You can opt out if stats aren’t your thing.
I love that CycleBar encourages a community while not taking itself too seriously. We want our riders to have a great time when they exercise with us, while at the same time, they’re making positive choices for their fitness.
How did you come to agree the deal with Xponential Fitness [the company behind CycleBar]? Simply, we just clicked. I travelled over to the company’s new HQ in southern California in February to meet the team at Xponential Fitness.
I think Anthony Geisler, John Kersh and Ryan Junk have put together a superb team at both Xponential Fitness and CycleBar.
We decided to use CycleBar as a launch platform to open opportunities for the wider Xponential Fitness portfolio [of gym franchises] in the UK.
Tell us about the first club We’re really excited about the first UK studio. It’s in Embassy Gardens in Nine Elms, London. Nine Elms is one of the largest urban regeneration projects in Europe. It’s a superb location near the new US Embassy and Battersea power station, which Apple plans to use for its new UK HQ. We aim to launch late summer.
What are your plans for the UK franchise? Growth! The Xponential Fitness business models are designed to work outside the rarefied markets of Manhattan, LA and central London. We know there is demand for boutique fitness outside these areas. Xponential’s Club Pilates and CycleBar have proven this in the US. We aim to do the same across the UK.
CycleBar is the first of the Xponential Fitness brands to cross the pond and launch in the UK, with the first location in London’s Nine Elms development
CycleBar is the first of the Xponential Fitness brands to cross the pond and launch in the UK, with the first location in London’s Nine Elms development
Mandarin Oriental has announced a standalone residence brand, Mansions, which will debut at
Emirates Palace, Mandarin Oriental Mansions, Abu Dhabi, in 2029.
Four Seasons Resort The Nam Hai in Hoi An, Vietnam, has put together a Global Wellness Day
(GWD) agenda with activations rooted in nature and shaped by four pillars of Joy – in
alignment with the day’s theme #JoyMagenta.
The Global Wellness Summit (GWS) will celebrate its 20th anniversary at the 2026 event in
Phuket, Thailand, later this year with the theme: The Science, Art and Soul of Wellness.
Auko, an all-inclusive development, is opening in Phong Nha in Vietnam in Q3 2026, with a
series of 30 tented eco-lodges and wellness hospitality operations by Lumina Wellbeing.
Therme Manchester’s 28-acre development, which will include interconnected glass pavilions
that measure 65,000sq m, will be the largest bathing and wellbeing attraction in the world once
complete, according to prof David Russell, CEO of Therme UK.
Naples Beach Club, a Four Seasons Resort, has opened a 2,800sq m spa called The Sanctuary,
with the design and concept inspired by the Native American people that populated Florida’s
Southwest coast – the Calusa.
Swire Hotels’ luxury hospitality brand Upper House has revealed it will roll out its two-day
House of Healing retreats at its three hotels in Hong Kong, Chengdu and Shanghai.
LVMH-owned beauty house Guerlain will launch up to five spas with partners a year as part of
its plan to expand globally, according to the brand’s international spa and wellness director,
Diane Davody.
A new global study by Kevin Kelly and Peter Yesawich, called WELLSurvey 2.0, has revealed
more than half of consumers in the UK, US and Germany would not choose numerous high-
profile wellness resort brands for a future trip.
+ More news
COMPANY PROFILES
Seed To Skin Founded by Jeanette Thottrup in 2018, in Tuscany, Seed to Skin is an award winning skincare line. [more...]
