Australian fitness franchise F45 has opened European headquarters in Central London, as it looks to gather the pace of its expansion across the old continent.

Located in Oxford Circus, the office will be tasked with supporting existing European and UK franchises, as well as help the brand's growth plans.

The company has been busy on the European market over the past 12 months and has recently opened its first sites in Switzerland, Finland, the Czech Republic, Lebanon and Israel – with plans in place to launch in Germany by the end of the year.

Speaking to Leisure Opportunities, Luke Armstrong, F45's global sales director, said the expansion plans will result in a further 120 studios being sold in Europe by the end of 2018, with a further 185 in 2019 and another 350 in 2020.

He added that the UK is seen by the company as a particularly strong market.

“The UK is a strategic target for F45 as the fitness market here continues to grow in both size and value," Armstrong said.

"Market penetration here is growing – nearly 15 per cent of Brits now belong to a gym – but the majority of these operations are inferior when it comes to customer satisfaction.

"The F45 franchise system combines our workout with a business model that is inexpensive to set up, simple to operate, and highly profitable – which has made us the fastest-growing fitness franchise in the world."

In total, F45 expects to have around 1,500 franchise deals in place by the end of 2018.

F45 classes are based on 45-minute high-intensity circuit training workouts in studios that are on average 200-250sq m (2,150-2,690sq ft), with a typical member base of 250.