In recognition for an outstanding deliverance of transformational projects that create engaging active environments and support healthy, happy, and prosperous communities, Alliance Leisure has been named Supplier of the Year at the prestigious, national, ukactive awards.
Over the last 20 years, we have worked in partnership with local authorities up and down the country, designing, procuring and developing leisure transformations that deliver huge community value. During this time, the company has delivered 192 projects representing investment of more £250 million. Projects have ranged from pump tracks and 3G pitches to multiple facilities across entire leisure portfolios. Every project is unique and designed to address the bespoke needs of the community it serves.
Earlier this year, Alliance Leisure also extended its tenure as Lead Development Partner on the UK Leisure Framework, owned and managed by Denbighshire Leisure. This will ensure public sector leisure providers can continue to invest efficiently and effectively in their leisure stock, both now and in the future.
To kick off 2022, Alliance Leisure is pleased to announce the appointment of industry heavy-weight, Jonny Curley, to drive leisure development across Scotland.
Jonny Curley will take on the role of Senior Business Development Manager (Scotland) to enhance the company’s ability to develop and deliver its existing pipeline of leisure projects and future development plans. Located in Glasgow, Jonny will utilise his industry experience and extensive network to further enhance the company’s progress in Scotland while supporting on other projects UK wide.
Commenting on the appointment, Alliance Leisure’s Managing Director, Paul Cluett, says: “Jonny has been involved with many Alliance projects as a supplier over the years and we have always enjoyed working with him and been aware of his similar work ethic and values. Now the timing is right for him to join us and we are delighted to welcome him into the business.
“Alliance Leisure is already playing a significant role in leisure development across Scotland, thanks mainly to our growing network of local authorities and involvement in the Scottish Leisure Network Group. Bringing Jonny onboard means we can continue to build on these foundations and become an even more integral component of future leisure development across the region.”
Jonny brings with him over 25 years of leisure experience. In 2010, he joined Origin Fitness as a Director and co-owner playing a key role in developing the business over a ten-year period. More recently, he joined Hutchinson Technologies as Sales Director. Both roles were with Scottish based companies, positioning Jonny as one of the most experienced and accomplished industry leaders in the region.
With a passion for driving success through the creation and management of a strong and positive company culture, Jonny also sits on the CIMSPA Scotland Professional Development Board and also the Scottish Leisure Network Group.
Jonny says: “A strong leisure provision has the potential to drive health, happiness and prosperity across entire communities and I am looking forward to using my network and expertise to help Alliance Leisure develop leisure spaces and centres throughout Scotland. Over the years, I have worked with Alliance Leisure on a number of projects and have always been impressed by the dedication, professionalism and expertise of the team. When an opportunity was presented for me to become a part of that team, I jumped at it.”
Alliance Leisure is proud to announce the launch of Active Families, an exploration of the vital role that family life plays in a child’s exposure to physical activity and the positive contribution purpose built facilities can play on the journey. The report has been compiled in partnership with ukactive and is available to download now.
“During the pandemic families faced huge challenges but there were some positives to emerge,” says Sarah Watts, CEO, Alliance Leisure. “According to Sport England research, 21 per cent of 7-16 year olds reported they were more active as a family during lockdown.1 This is encouraging news and highlights the important role that family can play in helping young people reach physical activity targets.
“Active Families shines a light on two important factors. Firstly, it explores the many benefits of family physical activity, whilst also highlighting barriers to participation and how they can be overcome. It also looks at a child’s physical development needs at various stages of their life and how these needs are answered by the current activity provision.
“Secondly, the report showcases Alliance’s work with TAGactive to evidence how innovative physical activity solutions can provide positive and viable activity choices to families and encourage them to exercise regularly together.
“We are very pleased to have contributed to this important piece of work. As childhood obesity continues to rise and many schools struggle to deliver the Chief Medical Officer’s recommended daily physical activity target, the role of the family in helping children to achieve physical literacy is more critical than ever. Developing accessible family focused facilities that inspire movement can encourage the formation of habits and values that are likely to carry into adulthood, safeguarding the health and wellbeing of our future generations.”
Reference
1 Sport England (2020) Children’s experience of physical activity in lockdown https://www.thinkactive.org/wp-content/ uploads/2020/07/Sport-England-Childrens-experience-of- physical-activity.pdf
The Bolton Whites Hotel was host to Tomorrow’s Workout trade fitness event on the 14th September 2021 and was attended by a range of suppliers, private operators, councils, leisure trusts and personal trainers.
Alliance Leisure and TA6 sent along a few of the team to listen to the speaker programme as well as meet with suppliers who were exhibiting at the conference. Here’s a brief summary of the discussion points throughout the day.
The morning session kicked of with a simple question, what’s the word on the street?
Sarah Watts, founder and CEO of Alliance Leisure spoke about value, decarbonisation and localism, particularly in relation to the public sector.
The challenges of pivoting a franchise model to selling a club within a club was explained by Jamie Cartwright, owner of Hatton Boxing and co-founder of BOX12. Jamie also explained the difficulties in scaling a business that is reliant on its rockstars.
Kate Landers from Creative Fitness Marketing explained about organic reach and suggested attendees check out Facebook Blueprint for training opportunities.
Mike Hind MBE, talked passionately about building a community within his club and how word-of-mouth advertising is more powerful than paid-for campaigns.
In the afternoon discussions focussed on the consumer. Ian Mullane, founder and CEO of the AI-powered sales and retention platform Keepme kicked off by talking about the importance of health and wellness to the consumer and using wearables to personalise an experience.
Andy King, chair of GMactive and CEO of Link4Life, explained how customers had missed the connection and sense of community during lockdown. He also referenced talk of the sector achieving a 20% penetration rate by 2030.
Lynn Wilson from Volaire Leisure explained to the group about projects in St Helens that had focussed on mental health, particularly in younger customers as part of the Holiday Activities and Food Programme (HAF).
Alliance Leisure and TA6 fully support the #SaveLeisure campaign, recognising the devastating impact that the Covid-19 pandemic could wreak upon the sports and leisure facilities across the country.
#SaveLeisure is a digital campaign urging the UK Government to commit circa £800 million relief funding to enable the full reopening and recovery of the public leisure sector accounting for the catastrophic impact of Covid-19.
We have spent over 20 years supporting leisure operators, including our provision of freely available support and guidance during and after the UK’s lockdown period. We therefore see it as our duty as a business to back this essential campaign, for the good of both our industry and the health of our nation as a whole.
