News Spokespeople - Broomfield & Alexander Chartered Accountants

NEW CONCEPT HEALTH AND FITNESS WEBSITE WORKS OUT WELL

Wales-based entrepreneur Benn Davis and his team have launched a new concept in health and fitness, not-for-profit websites designed to encourage people and communities across the UK to get more active.

www.morepeoplemoreactive.com is a site which aims to provide people who want to get out and get fit with one of the UK’s most comprehensive sources of intelligent, up-to-date and jargon free advice on health and fitness.

The venture has been launched through a new kind of company structure specifically designed to enable businesses whose activities have “social worth” to operate with the minimum of corporate red tape.

Benn has set up Promoting Leisure as one of only a handful of Community Interest Companies (CICs) in Wales with the help of professional advisors and charity experts Broomfield & Alexander and 7Side Ltd, a Cardiff-based firm which specialises in electronic company incorporations, corporate information and property search services.

The MorePeopleMoreActive.com website will launch in June and contain information written by qualified fitness professionals covering such topics as women’s health, men’s health, family fitness, weight loss and nutrition. In addition, community clubs across the country such as badminton, darts and local football clubs, will be offered free promotional pages.

Revenue for the site, which will be marketed in leisure centres around Britain and by direct mail, will be driven by organisations advertising on an activity finder, which will allow people to search for health clubs and leisure centres in their area, and see the facilities offered by each. Jobs pages and databases of personal trainers and gym equipment for sale will offer additional revenue streams.

Benn said he saw an opportunity to create a business which would put something back into the community, but was helped into the decision to go ahead on realising the benefits of going down the new CIC route.

“Because the company was non profit-making, there were only two choices. Either we set up as a company limited by guarantee, or as a charity, but both are quite complicated,” he said.

“A Community Interest Company is much simpler, although you have to go through a process of being approved by a government-appointed regulator who needs to be satisfied that you really are operating for the good of the community only.

“Any money we make as a CIC will be invested further into innovative consumer marketing techniques, and we have the option to bring in external investors, so the whole model is very flexible.”

Broomfield & Alexander director Mark Jones said that Promoting Leisure was one of very few CICs in Wales. “This form of company is attracting increasing attention, though, and we are currently working with a number of our charity clients to look at it as an option,” he said.

“They are attractive because they encourage not-for-profit organisations to think and operate on a commercial basis, and unlike companies limited by guarantee and registered charities, CICs can raise equity funding and offer a reasonable return - which means there are greater funding opportunities.

“It’s been fascinating and exciting to be involved with Benn and his team in this venture,” he said. “We all hope it will be of real benefit to communities across Britain by improving levels of participation is sport and fitness. It should lead to a healthier population and a reduction in obesity-related illness, which in turn should reduce the burden on the NHS.”

Kathryn Hopkins of 7Side Ltd said the site should also help commercial leisure operations as well.

“It’s not just the community which will benefit from improved levels of participation,” she said. “Higher usage of leisure centres and gyms results in higher income, which in turn will improve facilities for the greater use of the community.”

For more information on CICs or any of our Charity team services please email us at charities@broomfield.co.uk or visit our charities section

Date: 08 July 2008