PARTNERS FOR LIFE
THE MEANING OF LIFE IS TO GIVE LIFE MEANING
CONTENTS 4 6 8 10 14 20 30 32 38 40 44
LIFE PURPOSE LIFE GUARDIANS LIFE MANAGERS LIFE MANAGED LIFE EXCELLENCE LIFE CHANGING LIFE PEOPLE LIFE GIVING LIFE BLOOD LIFE STATISTICS LIFE PARTNERS
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LIFEPURPOSE
At Life Leisure, we really love what we do and the people we do it for. We live for fitness, we live for sport and we live to provide state-of-the-art leisure facilities, designed and managed to improve the lives of each and every member of the communities we serve. We don’t do it for the love of money. We’re a not-for-profit company and registered charity created to provide high quality, excellent value, accessible fitness clubs, sports centres, community programmes and sport designed with people in mind. That means everything to us and even more to the people who access our services every day. Our aim is to champion opportunities for the people who need it most, ensuring the very best in sports and leisure is available and affordable to all, and enhancing the lives of families and individuals regardless of age, background and ability. What’s more, because we operate on a not-for-profit basis, every single penny generated by our facilities goes straight back into our communities and the facilities we operate, so we make a positive impact on not just lives, but on our environment and our society. Now we’d like you to join us, and help us make your community fitter, healthier and happier too.
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LIFEGUARDIANS MEET OUR TEAM OF TRUSTEES As a Board, it is our role to provide direction and strategy, and uphold the vision, mission and values of the organisation. At Life Leisure staff inject so much passion into what they do, underpinned by our behaviours and principles, that it is a pleasure as Chairman to lead the Board in directing this momentum. Life Leisure never stands still. I want to play my part along with you in developing further stakeholder relationships to lead Life Leisure through its next transformation. In recent years we have invested in new facilities, particularly in areas where there was a lack of provision, including Houldsworth Village, Stockport Sports Village and, of course, the award winning ‘health hub’ at Avondale. We’ve developed a range of activities and events to suit the needs of local residents through many projects including the Sport England funded ‘I Wish I’d Tried’ Life Leisure programme aimed at inactive adults; the Big Event Series of mass participation events in Stockport as a legacy to the 2012 Games and to meet latent demand; and actiLIFE technology development, looking to the future beyond facilities and programmes. The whole estate has had a life-changing impact on communities, with residents of Stockport achieving goals they never thought possible with the support of the PARiS scheme (one of the very best GP referral schemes in the country), alongside the development of Olympians under the stewardship of Stockport Metro. This is Life Leisure’s time. Be part of it.
STEWART McCOMBE CHAIRMAN
STEWART McCOMBE A board member since 2013, Stewart has been actively involved in finance and business development in the North West for over 20 years. Also highly committed to the charity sector, he has a particular passion for supporting young people and helping them create a better future.
NORMAN WALKER OBE With an impressive background in the engineering industry, Norman brings solid business experience to the team. Awarded an OBE in 1991, Norman now devotes his energies to Life Leisure, cricket, football, Crown Green Bowls and rugby league.
MEL POMFRET Mel has spent his whole career serving people, first in local government and now with us. He’s a big fan of football, has been a Director of the Cheshire County Football Association Limited since 2000; and Secretary of Stockport & District FA for 32 years and, although he loves the Blues…his enthusiasm for life and Life Leisure means he rarely has them!
ANDREW SMITHSON
VAL COTTAM MBE Val had the experience of life in the private sector for 8 years and then spent 30 years in local government and was awarded an MBE for her services to Stockport’s community. An avid supporter of all sports, she brings boundless energy and commitment to our team.
MIKE ATKINSON
GRAEME LAWRENCE
As an ex-leisure professional and fan of all sport, Mike is very pleased that Life Leisure is making a major contribution to getting people into active lifestyles and improving fitness. A fully trained PE teacher, Mike joined us from a position as Head of Leisure, Parks and Countryside at Trafford MBC. As a fan of rugby union, he’s never happier than when converting people to fitness.
Graeme combines a day job in marketing for blue-chip companies with managing Cheadle and Gatley’s Under 10s soccer team. Unsurprisingly, given his background, his chosen sport is football and he’s a real team player.
A practising solicitor for many years, Andrew describes himself as “an enthusiastic underperformer in a number of sports”. All we can say is that his performance at Life Leisure is rather more impressive!
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LIFEMANAGERS MEET OUR SENIOR MANAGERS Life Leisure is constantly growing and developing as a first class fitness provider and our team continues to go from strength to strength. As more and more local organisations and community groups choose to partner with us, we’re able to bring more sports and fitness facilities for all, particularly in harder to reach communities. Every member of our team loves what they do and is fully committed to the Life Leisure philosophy, a fact fully illustrated in
the work they do with children, families and disadvantaged groups from all over Stockport.
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Martin Harriman CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER
Kate Egdell FINANCE DIRECTOR
Malcolm McPhail MANAGING DIRECTOR
Martin joined Life Leisure in 2002 after several successful years in leisure roles in Stockport and across the UK. Starting as a Business Development Manager, through to managing many leisure centres, he moved to his current position of Chief Operating Officer of the new Sports Trust, also in 2002.
Kate joined Life Leisure as our Finance Director in 2012, from a highly successful career in accountancy for the entertainment sector in London. Obviously, such a fast-moving industry proved the perfect background for her move to the leisure sector, and to us.
Malcolm has been our Managing Director since 2007, bringing with him an exceptional senior management pedigree, a proven record of delivering success in the highly pressured Private, Local Authority and Trust settings and he has a well-earned reputation as an inspirational leader.
With such a comprehensive sports and leisure background, Martin brings 20 years of experience and knowledge of our industry to the team.
Our experience and expertise mean that our ability to deliver a comprehensive range of fitness, leisure and health services as an outsourced function to local authorities is beyond question. We’re proud of our work and, as a team, we’d love to demonstrate to you how we could provide you with exceptional
On those rare moments that Kate’s not actively working, she is director of a multi-academy educational trust and a keen singer and musician, currently mastering the Euphonium. Not that she’s known for blowing her own trumpet!
services and improve the effectiveness and efficiency of your services and operations. We’d also love to show you how our team’s approach to sports and fitness can reach and inspire even those members of the community who have never considered physical activity and exercise as an option. Some of our people’s stories are truly inspirational! Malcolm McPhail MANAGING DIRECTOR
In addition to all of this, Malcolm co-wrote Fitness for Motorsport, has represented Scotland and Great Britain in athletics and won the Scottish 200m title in both 2008 and 2009. We believe that this makes him perfectly qualified to run Life Leisure today and well into the future.
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LIFEMANAGED OUR GROWING ESTATE BRAMHALL
AVONDALE
RECREATION CENTRE
CHEADLE HULME
CHEADLE
RECREATION CENTRE
DIALSTONE
HOULDSWORTH VILLAGE
LAPWING
X2
HOME OF STOCKPORT METRO
GRAND CENTRAL
HAZEL GROVE
HAZEL GROVE HIGH SCHOOL RECREATION CENTRE
X2 50M
3 INDOOR 5-A-SIDE
PRIESTNALL
MARPLE
STOCKPORT SPORTS VILLAGE
ROMILEY
RECREATION CENTRE
RECREATION CENTRE
X3
X2
X2
WERNETH
X17
X5
FACILITIES KEY
GYM/FITNESS SUITE
BADMINTON
FLOODLIT PITCHES
FOOTBALL PITCHES
BAR & SOCIAL AREA
BASKETBALL
KIDS CLASSES & ACTIVITIES
BEAUTY TREATMENTS
PERSONAL TRAINING
BOXING GYM
MARTIAL ARTS
CLUBS & GROUPS
NETBALL
CRÈCHE
SWIMMING POOL
TABLE TENNIS
TENNIS COURTS
TRIATHLON CLUB
COMMUNITY WALKS
WEIGHTLIFTING GYM
STUDIO CLASSES
PODIATRY
SPORTS REHAB & MASSAGE
STOCKPORT METRO SWIMMING LESSONS
SPINNING CLASSES
SPORTS HALL
SQUASH COURTS
STEAM ROOM & HEALTH SUITE
OUTDOOR PITCHES
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TOTAL MEMBERS 17,400
*
AND GROWING
*Total Life Leisure monthly and annual members
+ CASUAL VISITORS
TENS OF THOUSANDS every month access the sports and programmes below.
TOTAL STAFF 500
Our staff are mainly from the Stockport area, creating and sustaining local employment, as well as an ongoing emphasis on apprenticeship opportunities for local young adults.
WE HAVE OVER
90 JOB ROLES
ranging from Cleaners to Coaches and Modern Apprenticeships to Managers.
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LIFEEXCELLENCE
OUR SHINING EXAMPLES At Life Leisure, we’re proud of all the services we provide, and with very good reason. Just take a look at some of the sports and fitness centres we currently run and the superb facilities and opportunities we offer to users. From “a gym for people who don’t go to the gym” to a swimming pool that’s home to our own, home grown, Olympic standard athletes, you’ll see shining examples of our commitment to excellence and to improving lives.
AVONDALE HEALTH HUB
HOULDSWORTH VILLAGE
STOCKPORT SPORTS VILLAGE
GRAND CENTRAL STOCKPORT METRO
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FIT
A O N T I AW N A SS 3 NE 2 0 1
WI
NN
L
AR
DS
ER
AVONDALE HEALTH HUB A National Fitness Award winner and Flame finalist, Avondale is a perfect example of what we achieve by working with Public Health, utilising local insight and consulting with the wider community. The result is a health and physical activity ‘hub’ and “a gym for people who don’t go to the gym”. Investment in Avondale has provided consultation rooms, bariatric chairs and a gym partitioned to create closed areas for specific sessions. The team at Avondale work in partnership with Weight Management and Public Health to allow patients to access the specialist facilities at the ‘Health Hub’. With membership at an all-time high, impressive growth has funded innovations like the Alter G treadmill, which allows users to run or walk at zero gravity, reducing impact and strain on joints and muscles. Avondale has now received national acclaim, being named “Best Rehabilitation Centre Of The Year” at the National Fitness awards. More importantly though, it’s now a centre local residents trust and feel comfortable in and one which provides a positive impact on their general health.
HOULDSWORTH VILLAGE Situated in the heart of Reddish, Houldsworth Village offers a whole range of facilities and activities to suit all the family. Step inside and you’ll find a state-of-the-art fitness suite alongside our aerobics studio, hosting weekly class programmes and a dedicated spinning studio. There are also two indoor 5-a-side football pitches for casual football and they also provide a training facility to a number of local teams, with additional new badminton and basketball facilities. In 2014 we remodelled the facility, introducing a unique fitness experience, which included the development of a large strength and functional training performance zone and an extended fitness class product to meet local demand. As part of the transformation we secured a strong partnership with British Weight Lifting, providing the sport with a new Regional Centre for Excellence in the North West. And a home for specialist weight lifting equipment used at the London Olympic Games and the Glasgow Commonwealth Games. In addition we invested heavily into developing a new improved home for Arnies Powerlifting Club, an inclusive powerlifting and weight training club. The developments at the centre have not only contributed to growing membership numbers but also a massive increase in the number of people participating in weight lifting, resulting in a surge in interest both from the general public and also the local media.
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THE EST’S HW NORT IGGESTILITY B LL FAC FOOT
BA
£9M ENT TM INVES23 ACRES OVER
STOCKPORT SPORTS VILLAGE While we’re proud to be able to offer such a huge variety of activities, Stockport Sports Village is best known for its outstanding football facilities. The centre is home to 17 football pitches, which play host daily to 5, 6 and 7 a-side leagues, regional leagues and over 50 individual teams. The sheer size of the venue makes it ideal for larger football clubs, allowing all of their teams to train together at the same time and in the same place. There are also programmes ranging from kids’ classes and holiday camps to aerobics classes across 3 fantastic studios. Life Leisure’s Stockport Sports Village facility is a superb example of our commitment to offering fun and fitness for the whole family. Whether you’re a cardio fanatic, a yoga enthusiast or a bootcamp devotee, the centre has something for everyone. And because we are passionate about catering for every member of the community, we provide the perfect training environment for serious athletes and complete beginners alike. We feel it’s a place that brings the entire community together, with adults, children and families all choosing the centre as a hub for enjoying the social side of fitness as well. We’ve everything from fantastic pitches, brand new savannah tennis courts, first class changing areas, a beauty salon, bar and bistro to conference facilities. Stockport Sports Village really stands as a symbol of Life Leisure’s dedication to providing the perfect balance of fitness, health and fun.
KS’SSFUL U E H T SUCCE LUB
MOST MMING C IONS SWI CHAMP E WHER DEVELOP
GRAND CENTRAL STOCKPORT METRO Life Leisure’s Grand Central Pools is a world-class facility that’s proud to be home to Stockport’s only 50m swimming pool - and even more proud to play a part in the achievements of Stockport Metro, the UK’s most successful swimming club. With the support of Life Leisure, many Olympians, World, European and National champions and record holders have been coached in the pool at Grand Central. Steve Parry, Graham Smith, Keri-Anne Payne, Cassandra Patten and James Goddard are just some of the names who have become household favourites locally. As a result, the centre has become known not only as home to the amazing Stockport Metro swimmers but also as a centre of all-round excellence, providing first class facilities for recreational and learner swimmers alike. In addition, at Life Leisure we love to offer alternative opportunities to anyone who loves to swim but whose first choice might not be competitive swimming. We run a whole range of courses including, rookie lifeguarding, synchronised swimming, activity swims and a Master’s programme - providing different ways for people to enjoy the water and all the health benefits it can bring. The scale of the swimming programme is simply breathtaking, benefitting absolute beginners through to budding Olympians. Particularly impressive are the programmes provided to local children – over 6000 children a week enjoy and benefit from lessons and an additional 3500 primary school children attend lessons each week, with delivery to 88 of the 90 primary schools in the area. It’s just another example of our commitment to providing the very best facilities to the communities we serve. 19
LIFECHANGING OUR COMMUNITY PROGRAMMES We’re committed to changing our communities for the better. To widen our reach we work together with Public Health, the NHS and General Practitioners to develop, implement and manage a whole range of programmes aimed at tackling health issues such as childhood obesity and rehabilitation after ill health or injury. We bring effective exercise and fitness regimes to people for whom visiting a gym simply isn’t an option. The community Sport Development Team deliver a variety of sessions and events where it matters most, focusing on key Priority Areas where levels of deprivation are high and where we as a team can have the greatest impact. We are passionate about engaging young people from as young as 5 years plus and we deliver positive, safe, diversionary activities not only to improve their activity levels but also to combat health issues, increasing self-esteem and confidence. We deliver a vibrant and varied offer and working with local partners such as Stockport Homes, Community Safety and Neighbourhood Management we use sport as a tool to bring local residents together. Our work helps us to break down many barriers to participation, with the activities, venues and costs tailored to meet the needs of our communities. Here’s a few examples of our work and most successful programmes. They’re all just a part of Life Leisure’s approach to bringing health, fitness and a real change of life to everyone we can.
ALL TOGETHER ACTIVE
PARiS
ACTILIFE
I WISH I’D TRIED // BIG EVENT SERIES
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ULL T E M A RPER E O C M A S INC U S R CU TOS P
ALL TOGETHER ACTIVE Working closely with Public Health, Life Leisure has developed and implemented our A2A programme – a childhood obesity initiative aimed at 5 to 13 year olds. The scheme’s 6 to 12 month support programme was created to support families and children who could lead happier, more active lives by maintaining a healthy weight. The A2A scheme offers weekly sporting and physical activity opportunities balanced with food and nutrition workshops and practical advice on behavioural and lifestyle changes designed to provide a brighter, healthier future. All of this is delivered in group workshops designed around families and incorporates Change4Life topics including: • • • • •
60 Active Minutes Sugar Swaps Snack Check Me Sized Portions Tips to transform cyber time to leisure time
Over the last 6 years, All Together Active, a joint initiative between Life Leisure and Stockport Council, has helped over 250 families improve their health, with over 70% of those taking part seeing a significant reduction in their BMI (Body Mass Index).
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PARiS // PHYSICAL ACTIVITY REFERRAL IN STOCKPORT PARiS, our extremely successful GP exercise referral scheme is designed to help patients with moderate medical conditions improve their health through exercise. Run by Life Leisure in partnership with Public Health and Stockport Council, PARiS was conceived in 1992 as the first ‘exercise on prescription’ scheme in the country and now works with in excess of 1,300 referrals annually, all handled by an experienced team dedicated to providing full support and guidance to a fitter, healthier future. PARiS provides a range of targeted exercise and rehabilitation programmes to help with a number of health conditions. For example, there’s the Back Rehabilitation Course – a six week course that combines education with specific core strengthening exercises to relieve chronic lower back pain and help sufferers to manage their condition. Specialist COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disorder), cardiac rehabilitation and falls prevention programme are also provided. For anyone who has problems with yo-yoing weight, there’s our Weight Loss Guru programme, managed by a team of nutrition and exercise behavioural change experts who help get everyone in shape.
RECOG AS ONE NISED OF UK’S B EST PH THE ACTIVI YSICAL PROGR TY AMME S
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ACTILIFE // REMOTE COACHING ActiLIFE means that if you won’t or can’t get to the gym, we’ll bring it to you! Not only do we provide fitness and leisure solutions in our state-of-the-art facilities we have now developed a cutting-edge programme called actiLIFE which uses an actiPED, accelerometer technology linked with an online portal that incorporates a remote coaching service. This enables users to monitor their activity levels from just about anywhere. It’s an innovation that has gained national acclaim, recognition at the UKactive Flame Awards and has also helped Stockport residents benefit from £17,000 of National Lottery funding to take part in an innovative programme actiSPORT, an extension of the actiLIFE product.
The Pebble is cutting-edge actiPED technology offering a remote coaching service.
Funding awarded to Life Leisure from Sport England helped us test a truly pioneering project which provided 100 members of our community with the chance to take part in a 6 month sporting activity programme. The results have been outstanding with over 70% increasing and maintaining their activity levels once the pilot project came to an end. Aimed specifically at those who need our help most, sedentary or obese people, actiLIFE provides everyone who takes part with leading accelerometer technology which tracks and monitors their activity levels. Life Leisure’s highly trained fitness professionals take measurements at key times throughout the participant’s journey on the programme to show just how much a little exercise can improve their health. At Life Leisure we live to care for our communities and to get people more active, whether that’s in the gym or out of it.
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I WISH I’D TRIED More recently we have launched a fantastic new project ‘I Wish I’d Tried’. Jointly funded by Life Leisure, Public Health Stockport and primarily through Sport England Lottery funding, the programme provides varied sport and physical activity provision for inactive adults aged 25 years+. With over 20 different sports on offer, and continuous programme expansion based on consultation with local people, sessions run every day at locations that are easy to access for everyone. As with all our work there is a strong focus on tackling health inequalities, therefore providing sessions in priority areas is essential. With sessions starting from just £1, participation is growing at an outstanding pace. The project is playing an important role in tackling health inequalities and is helping once again to break down barriers such as accessibility and lack of opportunity. The varying offer also provides for fun and inclusive sessions to be delivered to those with a physical or learning disability.
A LONDON 2012 LEGACY
THE BIG EVENT SERIES Life Leisure has established a mass participation sports series, the Big Event Series, meeting the latent demand for such events locally. Commencing in 2012 after the Olympics, the ‘Big Stockport Event Series’ is now firmly positioned on the annual sporting calendar and has not only grown year-on-year but has also attracted interest from the corporate sector, the local media and sports brands and partners, which in turn is ensuring we provide a lasting legacy, in addition to impacting on the whole community.
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LIFEPEOPLE Here are a few examples of selected case studies of people we have helped through various prgrammes in the community.
HOW NASA TECHNOLOGY CHANGED DAVID FURNIVAL’S LIFE During a period of enforced inactivity while recovering from surgery, David’s weight ballooned to 25 stone. That’s when he found the Alter G treadmill, an anti-gravity treadmill usually only found in exclusive private clinics. This specialist piece of equipment, available at Life Leisure Avondale allows users to train at just 20% of their body weight. Despite David’s restricted mobility, the treadmill helped him dramatically improve his overall health and lose an incredible 4½ stone. As a result, David’s mobility has improved greatly and although he is still in some pain, he’s now well on the way to enjoying activities with his three boys again.
TRACY BONSALL’S JOURNEY TO FITNESS COACH When Tracy, a long-time Life Leisure member, decided to pursue her dream of working in the fitness industry, we wanted to help in any way possible. She was given advice from our trainers, the opportunity to observe training sessions and even encouraged to bring along her own client who she was practising with for her Personal Training course. Tracy is now a qualified gym instructor and part of the team at Life Leisure and she is also well on her way to becoming a Personal Trainer!
TONY HATTON’S TREADMILL CHALLENGE 10 years ago, Tony suffered a stroke, and was told he would never walk again. However after an incredible turnaround, inspired and aided by the team at Life Leisure he has undertaken something rather remarkable. On 1st September 2014, whilst raising money for two of his favourite local charities Tony completed a two minute walk on the treadmill at Life Leisure Stockport Sports Village. Our trainers have supported Tony on his journey, helping him increase his strength, improve his fitness and lose almost an entire stone.
HOW JULIA FITTON’S LIFE CHANGED IN ONE SHORT MONTH After a year of physical inactivity due to illness, Julia was determined to make a change. Our PARiS scheme, which is tailored to help people become more active whilst recovering from illness, was perfect for her. Julia took a brave first step and attended a class at Life Leisure Avondale and now visits us three times a week! Her increased mobility aside, Julia’s self-esteem has never been higher.
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LIFEGIVING
OUR COMMUNITY INITIATIVES Of course changing communities doesn’t stop on our own doorstep. At Life Leisure we’re equally committed to spreading our philosophy, our expertise and our facilities as far and wide as possible. With that in mind, we’ve established a range of community initiatives that work to improve fitness, health and all-round quality of life for people both here at home and much further afield. Two perfect examples are the projects we undertake with the David Hopkins Foundation in this country and the work we continue to carry out with the Sefton Village Orphanage in the Philippines. They’re both tremendously deserving causes and we’re immensely proud of the results we’ve achieved with both so far. What’s more, we’re committed to even greater success in the future.
THE DAVID HOPKINS FOUNDATION
THE SEFTON VILLAGE ORPHANAGE
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TING S R O P SUP SPORT L LOCA UBS & CL DUALS I INDIV
THE DAVID HOPKINS FOUNDATION David Hopkins was Chairman of Life Leisure until his passing in 2009. David’s passion was an inspiration to everyone he met and in his memory we created the David Hopkins Foundation, to continue his extraordinary legacy. The David Hopkins Foundation was launched in April 2011 to help people from all backgrounds to become healthier and more active. The money we raise enables local sports clubs and individuals to develop and thrive in their chosen sport or leisure pursuit and also ensures they can expand their reach into their local community. Over the last two years, we have worked together as Team Life Leisure to raise more than £30,000, which is distributed to benefit numerous sporting groups, individuals and charities, including AFC Stockport, Offerton Park Football Club and Heaton Mersey LTC to name a few! We currently have an annual fundraising target of £12,000, which we aim to achieve by throwing our weight behind fun and active events such as aerobathons, sponsored walks, cake sales, fancy dress days, bag packing events and much more. At Life Leisure we believe that fitness should be fun too. And we feel sure that David would fully approve. The Foundation accepts applications from any individual or organisation in Stockport, up to a value of £500 for individuals and £1,000 for clubs or organisations, who are seeking to support or develop sport or physical activity. Our committee meets quarterly to discuss applications and award funding to ensure that the name of David Hopkins and all his efforts will be remembered for many years to come.
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THE SEFTON VILLAGE ORPHANAGE // PHILLIPINES Over the past few years, Life Leisure has delivered a number of sport and recreation projects at the Sefton Village Orphanage and it’s a cause that’s extremely close to all of our hearts. One future project we are considering involvement with is the creation of a cardio-vascular gym in the village’s Fire Centre. This would further improve the long-term health and wellbeing benefits for the community, ultimately meaning a healthier population in Sefton and enabling the residents to live and work for longer. To help achieve this aim Life Leisure would place a specialist member of the team in the Centre to teach various classes, including junior fitness sessions aimed at children 16 and under. The chosen team member would also focus on GP referrals and delivering cardiac rehab and nutrition workshops. Gradually with our support and experience the local community would be able to get involved and take a more active role in the day-to-day planning of the project and running of the centre. This is just another example of our commitment to support every community we touch.
SUPPOR TIN EVERY G COMMU N WE TOUCIT Y H
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LIFEBLOOD
SEB
ADRIAN
STAFF SENTINEL
CUSTOMER SENTINEL
OUR SENTINELS, W.A.T.C.H. PRINCIPLES & BEHAVIOURS Life Leisure views its customers as the core of the business and to ensure that we’re fully in tune with what those customers want and need, we’ve launched a customer sentinel programme, initially selecting 15 customers but with a plan to increase that number to 50 in the near future. To begin with, our only sentinels were members of staff. However, we have recently started to build this team of customer sentinels, to work alongside our staff sentinels, all of whom we view as important ambassadors for Life Leisure. Customer sentinels are heavily involved in our marketing and social media campaigns, helping us spread the word on new developments at Life Leisure by sharing the news with their friends and family. They’ll also act as our eyes and ears, alerting us to any potential issues or complaints before they become a problem. We believe that by fully involving our customers and our community in everything we do, we can create a better leisure and fitness experience for everyone. Of course, all of our sentinels, both staff and customers, are chosen based on living and breathing the Life Leisure W.A.T.C.H. principles.
WINNER (BE A)
AUTHENTICITY
TOGETHER
CARING
HAPPY
PRINCIPLES
PRINCIPLES
PRINCIPLES
PRINCIPLES
PRINCIPLES
Know your competition and be better Play to win Make tough decisions Inspire, challenge and recognise success
Demonstrate honesty and integrity Bring no harm to the Life Leisure brand and family Prioritise your Life Leisure job role regardless of any other employment
Work as a team Care about our people Win hearts and minds through your leadership
Be helpful and respectful towards members and colleagues Know who our members are Create brands and activities our members love, so they become Life Leisure advocates
Take an active part in our members enjoying themselves, making sure they always have a good time Be happy in your job on a daily basis — discuss anything that interferes with this with your manager
BEHAVIOURS
BEHAVIOURS
BEHAVIOURS Be professional and competitive Be confident and have a voice
BEHAVIOURS Be loyal, we’re all part of the Life Leisure family Be reliable at all times
BEHAVIOURS Act in a manner where everyone matters Be encouraging and open-minded
Be a good listener Go above and beyond in everything you do
Go out of your way every day to make people smile Be happy
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LIFESTATISTICS OUR FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE OVER THE LAST 5 YEARS 2 NEW
At Life Leisure we have managed to increase our turnover over the last 5 years by 45% from £8m to £11.6m, despite a reduction in funding from grants and management fees, a downturn in the UK economy and an increasingly competitive market. In fact, as a company we have greatly reduced our reliance on grant and management fees from just over 31% of turnover in 2010-11 to only 17% of turnover in 2014-15. In line with our objectives to provide first class facilities which are accessible to all, and against the backdrop of a very challenging environment, as a company we opened two brand new facilities during this 5 year period, both in areas of deprivation. Houldsworth Village in Reddish saw a derelict factory converted into a state-of-the-art fitness and football facility. Stockport Sports Village in Woodley, a massive 23 acre site is now home to the biggest football facility in the North West, as well as first class fitness, conference and tennis facilities.
LEISURE FACILITIES OPENED
£9M EXTERNAL INVESTMENT IN STOCKPORT SPORTS VILLAGE
Grants and management fees 2010 – 2015
£11.6M
31%
45% £ 8M Turnover 2010 – 2015 Our annual expenditure has increased in line with our income, demonstrating an increase in leisure provision of over 45% since 2010
17% 41
LIFESTATISTICS INCOME 2014 – 2015
40% Health and fitness generates over 40% of our total income. This is mainly generated from gym memberships.
24%
ÂŁ11.6M
17% Approximately 17% of income comes from management fees and grants. The management fees are paid to us by Stockport Council for running their leisure facilities. The grants come from a variety of public bodies to run community projects.
Swimming is our second largest income stream. This is made up of a mix of our highly rated swimming lessons programme, as well as school and public swimming lessons.
12% 7% Other income.
12% of total income comes from sport and recreation. This comprises block bookings from clubs for use of both indoor and outdoor facilities. Football is the majority of the bookings.
CAPITAL EXPENDITURE 2010 – 2015
30% 30% of the total has been funded by Stockport Council as part of the NNDR investment programme. This funding finished in 2012-13.
70%
£3.3M
The remaining 70% of capital expenditure has been funded directly by Life Leisure.
£1.8M
£1.5M
Has been spent on equipment at Hazel Grove, Cheadle, Romiley, Grand Central and Stockport Sports Village.
Has been spent on refurbishment mainly at Avondale, Cheadle and Grand Central.
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THE QUALITY OF LIFE IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN LIFE ITSELF
LIFEPARTNERS PARTNERS FOR LIFE We hope that everything you’ve read so far has given you a real insight into the Life Leisure philosophy and that you share our passion for improving the health, fitness and general well-being of all of our communities. As you will have gathered, Life Leisure’s collaborative spirit has been a key part of our success. We love to inspire and motivate one another as we work together to achieve our shared goals. If that sounds like something you’d like to become involved with as a partner, we’d love to hear from you. For further information or to arrange a meeting please contact: Malcolm McPhail, Managing Director Telephone: 0161 482 0900 or email: malcolm.mcphail@lifeleisure.net To discover more please visit www.lifeleisure.net or join us at: @lifeleisureuk
/lifeleisure
@lifeleisureuk
life leisure
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PARTNERS FOR LIFE Life Leisure Head Office, Landmark House, Station Road, Cheadle Hulme, Cheshire SK8 7BS