Low cost fitness operator The Gym Group will introduce a new premium membership product, designed to provide members with an “enhanced offering”.

Speaking to Leisure Opportunities, Gym Group CEO John Treharne compared the new £5 per month add-on – which will be introduced later this year – to the optional upgrades offered by budget airlines.

“By paying another £5 on top of their monthly membership, members can access a number of benefits which we see evolving over time,” Treharne said.

“The benefits which we are introducing first will be access to every single club nationwide, the ability to bring a friend along to an exercise session and unlimited access to a FitQuest machine, which measures body composition and allows members to undertake fitness tests.

Treharne added that the new service will be initially tested in “around 40 sites” during Q4 2017, with the view of rolling it out nationally in the new year.

The news came as the group announced its interim results for the first six months of 2017.

Revenues for the year to 30 June reached £42.8m – an increase of 18.8 per cent on 2016 figures. The number of members increased by 19.8 per cent to 508,000.

During the period, The Gym Group opened six new gyms, increasing the total estate to 95.

Treharne said the company has a strong pipeline of sites and will reach 100 clubs in October 2017.

“Our openings programme is second half weighted and we anticipate achieving the top end of our guidance range of 15 to 20 site openings in 2017.

“Our strategy remains the same: to take advantage of the demand for high quality, low cost, 24/7 gyms while continuing to innovate through the use of technology and digital marketing.”