Budget gym chain Flyefit is cashing in on a Covid-inspired fitness craze with a €10 million expansion that it says will create 120 jobs.
The company plans to open four new gyms, beginning with Dublin's Northside Shopping Centre in Coolock later this month, when it will also celebrate 10 years in business.
Flyefit will also expand its flagship gym in Blanchardstown, Dublin, by 50 per cent to 2,800sq m (30,138sq ft), to meet accelerating demand.
So-called “hybrid working” – office and home combined – and the pandemic has changed attitudes to fitness, explained a spokesman.
“Thousands of people used the lockdowns to take up exercise and to get fit, and the switch to hybrid working has helped workers to free up more time for exercise and to maintain a healthy lifestyle,” he added.
Expansion will create 120 new jobs and focus on cities and suburban areas, according to the company.
Flyefit opened its first gym in Ranelagh, Dublin, in 2011. It now has 15 facilities in the capital and one in Cork city.