Workforce Bank was assigned to be an agent and consultant on the sale of 2 gold mines in the Republic of Buryatia.
In the sports area, Workforce Bank has acted as a personal partner and sponsor of Vadim Vinnikov at World Domino Championship and will continue its cooperation with the Eastern Stars Ice Hockey team, the leaders of amateur ice hockey in Great Britain in 2011-2012.
After submitting the annual reports for 2010-2011, Workforce Bank has shown a 11% increase in the gross profits comparing to the previous year.
Workforce Bank became a financial adviser of “Stroydepo”(www.stroydepo.ru) company, a Russian federal network of construction and finishing materials hypermarkets, on the search and attraction of financial sponsorship for the construction of 6 shopping centers in Russia.
Workforce Bank announced today that it acted as an agent and advisor to a company “Shina Expert”(www.autoexpert.ru) in 2 European property deals. “Shina Expert” is a Russian based business, selling tires and providing auto service. The sum of the deal is undisclosed.
Convers Sports Initiatives (CSI) is very pleased to endorse the appointment of Michael Appleton as the new manager of Portsmouth Football Club (PFC), after a compensation package was agreed with West Bromwich Albion.
We would also like to place on record our thanks to Guy Whittingham and Stuart Gray for allowing the PFC Board the time to conduct this managerial appointment process as well as thanking the loyal Pompey fans for their patience over the last three weeks.
As a Board we set out a number of criteria against which to assess the calibre of manager required to progress the club. We received well over fifty applications for the job which we reduced to a shortlist of fewer than ten managers from the UK and further afield who we interviewed and analysed in depth.
We did not deviate from our initial shortlist and criteria, and it was the ambition and motivation of Mr Appleton which shone through during every stage of the process.
Mr Appleton began his coaching career at West Brom in 2003 after the former Manchester United and Preston midfielder suffered a training ground injury. The highly regarded coach worked his way up at West Brom from the academy to the reserves, then as first team coach under Roberto Di Matteo, and finally as assistant manager to Roy Hodgson, with a brief spell as caretaker manager in between.
Pompey fans will know that CSI’s intention is to build a stable, well run, football club. We have shown our willingness to invest over the summer when needed but our main aim continues to be the long term future of the Club.
Our five year plan is to create an effective and stable structure for PFC, enabling development and year on year improvement. By appointing Mr Appleton as the new first-team manager, we believe we have identified someone who has proven himself to be a top quality coach and demonstrated his potential to be a top class manager who will help build the football infrastructure at Pompey in the long term.
We are sure that Mr Appleton’s approach to the game, along with our shared desire to develop players, will make him a firm favourite with Pompey fans. We know that our passionate and loyal fans will give their full backing to Michael and that together we can build on the work done by Guy and Stuart in getting us back up the League.
Today marks the eight month anniversary of Convers Sports Initiatives (CSI) acquisition of North One Sport (NOS). The following press release looks at the development of the business since February and at the exciting future of the company.
North One Sport is the rights holder of the FIA World Rally Championship, the Isle of Man TT, Clipper Round the World Yacht Race and Velux 5 Oceans Race.
FIA World Rally Championship
One of the most significant developments has been the innovation of WRC TV, with the introduction of the Championship’s first ever made-for-TV live “Power Stages”. Each rally has seen its final stage broadcast live around the globe via a major outside broadcast operation funded by NOS and CSI.
More TV content has been developed in response to requests from broadcasters and viewers. NOS, in partnership with CSI, has increased its programme output by 100% in 2011. This has seen the WRC TV audience grow by 6.3% during the first half of 2011 to 251 million viewers, and has been boosted by the completion of 14 new broadcast agreements.
More digital content has been created following increased investment in the official Championship website (www.wrc.com) with 25% more video clips being made available. Since recruiting additional editorial staff at the start of this season, the amount of news and feature content on wrc.com has also increased by a quarter. The WRC Newsletter has grown to 6,532 recipients and social media audiences are up 25%.
NOS and CSI have made a major investment in a pioneering outside broadcast operation to provide the first ever Live Internet TV pilot on WRC.com at Rallye de France. This featured 14 hours of live stage action and interviews with drivers and team management. Online viewers from 66 different countries tuned in to follow the action and this technology will be used for some or all of the 13 rounds in 2012.
In October, NOS hosted a high profile stand at Sportel, the leading Sports Media Rights market, where Prince Albert II of Monaco officially opened the WRC stand. Plans for a new, more global calendar, were announced and NOS met with over 60 different media owners to unveil a new multi-media WRC content offering for 2012.
The new season will be launched in January at the Championship’s most iconic rally location, Monte Carlo. This will be followed in the New Year by the launch of the new calendar for 2013, which will see the sport visiting new destinations.
In partnership with the FIA, NOS launched the inaugural WRC Academy featuring 23 young drivers aged between 18 and 24 from 5 continents representing 16 different nationalities. The winner will receive a €500,000 cash prize towards a WRC programme in 2012.
Isle of Man TT
Isle of Man TT television audience figures have hit new highs in 2011 with a territory reach of over 80 countries and a total cumulative audience of 15.9 million, a 96% increase on 2010 (8.1 million). Broadcasters of the event include; ITV4, Discovery Turbo, Sport1, Viasat, Servus TV, Sport 5, Abu Dhabi Sports, SuperSport, One HD, Sky Sport, ESPN and Speed HD.
Clipper Round The World Yacht Race
Successful distribution of the 2009/10 Clipper Round the World Yacht Race has resulted in NOS being awarded a renewal of the TV distribution rights for the 2011/12 race, which is currently underway. Broadcasters for the 2009/10 Series include; the Discovery Network, ESPN Star Sports, SuperSport, Viasat, Fox Sports and Band Sports
Velux 5 Oceans Race
With the conclusion of the 2010/11 edition earlier this year, production of the documentary series has proved a success with broadcast deals already agreed with many worldwide broadcasters including; the Discovery Network, Viasat, Sport Klub, SuperSport, Fox Sports, Ten Sports, ESPN Star Sports and Band Sports, ahead of delivery in November.
NOS and CSI want to continue the progression of the business during 2012 with particular focus on reaching new audiences and maximising the ‘fan’ experience as much as possible. We look forward to the launch of another successful season for WRC and we’re excited to announce plans for the 2013 calendar. We are also encouraged about the year ahead for the Isle of Man TT and the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race which culminates in July, and we remain dedicated to providing an unrivalled experience for the viewer, whether that be live or watching from home.
November 1 marks five months since Convers Sports Initiatives (CSI) acquired Portsmouth Football Club (PFC). It is an appropriate point to look back at what has been achieved so far and what PFC and CSI hope to achieve together over the coming months and years.
After the takeover, the immediate priority was to strengthen the playing squad and this included the permanent signings of Luke Varney, Greg Halford, Erik Huseklepp, Jason Pearce, David Norris, Stephen Henderson and Benjani, who are all now key first team players. Only Leicester City had a higher net spend than PFC in the summer transfer window outside the Premier League. The average age of the playing squad has dramatically reduced since our arrival and working alongside David Lampitt and, in due course, the new manager, we will seek to ensure that team matters continue to progress. We are also investing in the future, and the club has made great strides in improving the Academy, in particular increasing the coaching resources available to our young players.
The facilities at PFC have been neglected for some time and we recognise the need to make some improvements. These changes started with the training ground, where we invested in enhancing the quality and size of our training pitch facilities.
You may also have noticed many enhancements around Fratton Park, which include moving the big screen, tidying up the surrounding areas of the pitch and improving corporate match day areas. Fans will be pleased to know that the Fratton End clock has been taken down for repair. We will soon install a new digital clock and scoreboard. Funds have been set aside for the improvement of many of the toilets and this work has now begun. Some of the changes have not been quite so visible but are equally important, with important improvement work to guttering as well as an overhaul of the heating and plumbing services to the team dressing rooms.
We have also re-floored the Victory Suite and added a partition to allow greater flexibility for usage on match and non-match days. This allowed a new Kidzone to be launched at the Doncaster game, which was a great way to engage with some of our fans of the future. We will continue to look for ways in which we can make the most of our space and create opportunities to enhance the club’s commercial activity.
Off the pitch, we have seen very strong retention of our commercial partners and a number of new partnerships being created. This reflects the continuing strength of the PFC brand. We have also seen 10 additional sponsorship partners for PFC introduced from the CSI group. We are delighted with the appointment of the new Commercial Director, Nick Byrom, who we know will continue to improve all the commercial and matchday operations at the club.
We inherited a ticket pricing structure for the 2011/2012 season from the previous ownership but, working together with the staff at PFC, have introduced a number of ticket initiatives, including ‘Four for £44’ and the ‘Super Six’ promotion, which have both proved immensely popular.
We also inherited a number of other legacy issues that the management team have continued to work on over the last five months. This has meant that certain long running disputes, such as those with Tal Ben Haim and Tottenham Hotspur (regarding the Begovic matter) have now been successfully resolved ensuring the club’s position is protected. Of course we recognised that there would always be certain difficult matters to deal with when taking over a company recently out of financial distress, but we are pleased that the legacy issues are being dealt with effectively.
A charity game against FC Rostov was held at Fratton Park to raise money for the families of the Lokomotiv Yaroslavl ice hockey team who tragically lost their lives in an air crash. The event raised £15,000 for charity and we would like to thank everyone who attended or donated.
There are number of key priorities for both CSI and PFC over the next few months, not least to start climbing the league. We hope that the appointment of a new manager will provide the base from which we can get our season back on track, and we should thank Guy Whittingham and Stuart Gray for holding the fort during the selection process.
Away from the pitch we will be investing further in the commercial side of the business. We are soon to launch a new-look website and a matchday programme app that we hope will prove popular with fans.
We are only five months into our ownership of Portsmouth Football Club and are certainly looking to the future with optimism. We will soon have our five-year strategy in place, which involves improvements across all areas of the club’s business and infrastructure, from our footballing facilities to our approach to customer service. We’re not going to make any grand statements about the ground, but we recognise the fact that the development of a more modern stadium has to be part of a successful future for the club. In the first instance this means engaging with Mr Gaydamak in relation to the land surrounding Fratton Park and that process is already under way.
There is much to do, and a lot of hard work ahead, but every decision we make will be carefully considered, with the future success and stability of this great club being our number one priority.
Finally, CSI and PFC would like to thank the fans for their continued and unwavering support.
Today marks a year since Convers Sports Initiatives acquired PowerPlay Golf (PPG). The following press release discusses what has been achieved thus far and looks forward to an exciting future for the company.
The first half of 2011 was focused on building towards, and learning from, the launch of the televised professional events.
Proof of the concept was at Celtic Manor on the 30th May:
• £10m sponsor media value delivered
• x5 average viewing audience on Sky for the European Tour
• Watched in more than 120 countries
• Reached more the 150m households
• 56% viewers ABC1 Adults
Broadcast distribution:
• 51 Africa / Middle East
• 42 North America / South America
• 11 Mainland Europe
• 9 Eastern Europe and Baltic States
• 5 Asia/India/Pakistan
• 2 Australasia
Key feature of Celtic Manor from the industry’s perspective is that PowerPlay Golf has demonstrated it is both “developing the game” through its innovative format and “growing the game” by introducing a new audience to golf.
• New audience reached – 28% not traditional golf viewers
Other key milestones following Celtic Manor:
80% increase in the number of clubs signed and 100% increase in registered players since the Celtic Manor event.
There has been considerable demand from organisations and individuals to act as PPG agents. The increase in representation since Celtic Manor covers; Spain, Portugal, Germany, Korea, Thailand, Botswana, Australia, Italy, Switzerland, Austria, Czech Republic as well as representation across Asia. All told this is a 200% increase in representation which we are continuing to aggressively expand.
Second half of 2011 has focused on developing the PowerPlay Golf proposition to take full advantage of the TV events and get PowerPlay Golf ‘match fit’ for 2012.
We will soon be announcing a series of 5 events for the 2012 season, which will be televised and shown around the world. This will enhance the growth of the amateur game and we expect a dramatic increase in both club and player registration. On the back of this predicted success we will launch the amateur PowerPlay Golf World Championships, an integral part of what is sure to be an exciting year for PPG.
The World Rally Championship’s trial of live internet streaming from Rallye de France Alsace earlier this month proved such a hit with fans and teams that it could pave the way for similar coverage of some or all of the WRC’s 13 rounds in 2012.
Fourteen hours of live action, captured by two helicopters and onboard cameras, plus service park footage and interviews, was available to view free of charge on a media player on the championship’s official website, wrc.com, as part of a pilot project to investigate future digital opportunities for the FIA-governed series.
The exercise was also the first test of a new partnership between WRC promoter North One Sport and end-to-end streaming specialists, Streamworks.
Despite the enormous technical challenge of capturing live footage from cars as they sped through the mountainous Alsace region the experiment ran largely without a hitch, with tens of thousands of WRC fans logging on to watch the action.
A survey of wrc.com users who viewed the streaming found that 82.5 per cent wanted to watch live stage coverage on the internet. The results also underlined the sport’s worldwide appeal with online viewers from 66 different countries. The most popular were Finland (23.8 per cent), France (20.8 per cent), Spain (17.1 per cent), Germany (10.2 per cent), Poland (7.0 per cent) and United Kingdom (6.91 per cent).
Eighty-nine per cent of viewers were aged 40 or under, with 38.4 per cent aged between 22 and 30. The next largest age group was 14–21 year olds (27.4 per cent) followed by those aged 31–40 (23.1 per cent). Ninety-seven per cent of viewers were car owners, with most driving Fords (16.5 per cent) followed by Citroens (14.2 per cent) and then Opels (12.1 per cent).
The pilot project also proved a big hit with WRC team bosses. “It’s been fantastic and the quality has been superb,” said Ford team principal Malcolm Wilson. “For a first attempt it’s been very good and will take rallying to a different level.” David Richards, who oversees the factory MINI team, added: “When it’s properly up and running it will be a great product for the future. If it’s an indication of what’s to come then it’s superb.”
After a technical review and an analysis of feedback from wrc.com users and industry stakeholders, North One Sport CEO Simon Long said he hoped to offer more live coverage in the future. “The aim of the trial was to determine the technical feasibility of live WRC streaming and to gauge demand from fans. The results in both areas are extremely encouraging. The challenge now is to provide more live coverage from next year.”
Elsewhere on the internet the WRC continues to gain ground with wrc.com monthly page views averaging 10.26 million for the period January-June 2011 compared to 6.98 million in the same period last year. Meanwhile on 29 September the number of fans on the official WRC Facebook page reached half a million.
“The internet gives us an unparalleled opportunity to broaden the reach of the WRC beyond our existing broadcast audience and to provide fans with more content and more variety,” added Long. “The trial was a vital stage in our development plans for the next 12 months.”
oom! Cycle today opened its doors to the public for the first time.
Boom! specializes in indoor cycling, all day, every day. Each week, an array of classes, individually styled by BOOM!’s team of highly trained instructors and scheduled at times to suit everyone.
The Boom! studio is based in Shoreditch, just a short walk from Old Street tube station (2-8 Scrutton Street, EC2A 4RT).
With its exposed brickwork, industrial feel and street art flourishes, Boom! Cycle will take its inspiration from the surrounding neighborhood. Fully ventilated, the studio houses 39 top-of-the-range Schwinn AC Sport bikes, male and female changing rooms, including showers and a comfortable lounge area where customers can buy drinks and snacks along with clothing, indoor cycling shoes and other merchandise.
To book a class please call 0207 426 0702 or visit the Boom! website www.boommybody.com
Convers Sports Initiatives (CSI) can confirm that Steve Cotterill will be leaving Portsmouth Football Club (PFC) and joining Nottingham Forest, after a compensation package was agreed between the two Clubs.
CSI would like to thank Steve for his hard work and unwavering dedication towards PFC. He took over as manager during a period of extreme uncertainty and, with the limited resources that were available to him last season, he performed admirably.
After purchasing the club this summer, we invested in the team to enable us to challenge in what is a highly competitive league. Although the results and performances haven’t been as we had hoped, we were willing to allow Steve more time to turn the situation around. However, after some consideration, Steve decided that the opportunity to start afresh at Nottingham Forest was too good to turn down.
We wish him all the best in his new role and our attention now turns to finding the right replacement. We hope that the appointment of a new manager will enable the fans to unite and that together we can propel this great club back to where it belongs.
The countdown to Rallye Monte-Carlo, round one of the 2012 World Rally Championship, has begun after Albert II, Sovereign Prince of Monaco, formerly opened the WRC’s stand at Sportel in the Principality on Monday.
Sportel, one of the most significant global annual sports media rights fairs, is taking place in Monaco from 10-13 October. WRC promoter North One Sport is in attendance to showcase the digital and television programming it is planning for next year and to update delegates on developments in the world championship.
“Prince Albert is the patron of Sportel and used his visit to conduct the ribbon-cutting ceremony at our stand as we continue our preparations for next year’s WRC and the welcome return of Rallye Monte-Carlo,” said North One Sport CEO Simon Long. “There is widespread anticipation and enthusiasm about the return of the event to the WRC as it’s the most iconic rally on the calendar. The countdown has begun.”
North One Sport also hosted a reception for media guests and members of the Automobile Club de Monaco in anticipation of next year’s rally, which is scheduled to run from 17-22 January 2012.
Stages from this week’s Rallye de France Alsace will be streamed live and exclusive on the World Rally Championship’s official website, wrc.com, as part of a pilot project to investigate future digital opportunities for the all-action series.
World Rally Championship promoter North One Sport has made a substantial investment in the trial, which will be used to test the latest camera and streaming technology as well as to gauge the appetite among fans for live online coverage and more interactive content.
The pilot is also the first test of a new partnership between North One Sport and digital specialist, Streamworks.
Around 14 hours of coverage is planned, spread across Friday and Saturday’s competition, with the action available to view free of charge on a web media player accessed exclusively from the home page of wrc.com.
The coverage on Friday (30 September) will run between 1300hrs and 2000hrs (local time), with action from Saturday (1 October) shown between 1245hrs and 1930hrs.
On both days content will consist of interviews and atmosphere from the service park and the end of day press conferences. This will be mixed with stage action shot from two helicopters and by cameras mounted inside the rally cars. English and French commentary will be available.
“The digital landscape presents numerous opportunities to further expand the reach of the World Rally Championship and this experiment is a big step forward in our plans to develop formats and content to suit,” said North One Sport CEO, Simon Long.
“We have made a significant investment to get the project to this stage and it’s exciting that we are now ready to try and turn the theory into reality; however it’s important to make clear that this is a trial first and foremost and we expect to learn a great deal. This is unchartered territory, both technically and in terms of programming, but it’s a vital stage in our development plans for the next 12 months.”
The game on Wednesday, October 5th has been arranged to raise money for the families of the victims of the recent air crash in Russia, which killed 44 people.
The plane, which crashed immediately after taking off from an airport near Yaroslavl, was carrying the Lokomotiv Yaroslavl ice hockey team.
The entire team, which included several foreign stars, coaching staff and seven of the flight’s air crew were killed, while only survivor – a crew member, Alexander Sizov, is in a critical condition.
David Lampitt, Portsmouth Football Club’s chief executive, said: “On behalf of everyone involved with the club, I offer our deepest condolences to the families, friends and colleagues of those who died in these tragic circumstances.
“The accident has been felt deeply by us, as it has everyone in the sporting world, and that is why we have decided to play this match.”
The game will be played at Fratton Park on Wednesday, October 5th with a 7.30pm kick-off.
Ticket details will be announced shortly.
FC Rostov currently compete in the Russian Premier League, finishing in 9th place last season.
18th August, 2011 – GB Sport TV has announced its first showcase production one month ahead of next month’s commercial launch in September.
Six games from the London Basketball Invitational (part of The London Prepares Series) will be filmed live from The Olympic Park on Saturday 20th and Sunday 21st with Team GB Hosting China, Australia, France, Serbia, Croatia and France in a 15 match round robin competition.
Team GB will include NBA legend, Luol Deng in their starting line up and all six weekend matches will be streamed live on GB Sport Partner website telegraph.co.uk including Team GB vs. China (1800, Saturday 20th August) and GB vs. Australia (1800, Sunday 21st August).
“Basketball is always a great sport to watch on TV, and on this occasion will have the added appeal of featuring such an important event. We have some of Basketball’s top players competing in London this week and we’re delighted to be able to showcase this high profile competition both to a UK and worldwide audience” commented James Tombs, Head of Commercial & Business Operations, British Basketball.
Ben Clissitt, Head of Sport of Telegraph Media Group, added: “The Telegraph is committed to following the Road to London story and the London Prepares Series is an important part of that journey. We will be reporting regularly from The Olympic Park this week and we’re excited to be showcasing the 6 penultimate games live on telegraph.co.uk”
Michelle Dite, Managing Partner of Fast Track – the commercial, communications and events partner of British Basketball said: “We’ve worked hard with the GB Sport team to maximise exposure around the London Basketball Invitational and are delighted to have been able to deliver a whole weekend of coverage through this exciting new channel. Millions of fans around the world will now be able to see the extraordinary new Basketball Arena in the Olympic Park for the first time and enjoy watching Team GB taking on the very best in the world. The tournament will be an exciting taster of what is to come in the Games themselves and enable basketball fans to assess the form of some key, promising contenders, less than a year out from the main event.” For more information or visuals, please contact:
Dan Fletcher, General Manager GBsport TV
07743 871343 / dan.fletcher@GBsport.tv
GB Sport TV is Britain’s newest Sports Channel. It will launch in September 2011 as a free-to-air platform – dedicated to championing British Sport in the lead up to and beyond London 2012. GB Consortium Partners include Telegraph Media Group (media partner), Convers Sports Initiative, (investment partner), Kameleon Worldwide (marketing partner) and Input Media (production partner)
Convers Sports Initiatives (CSI) and Nectar Capital are delighted to announce an investment in Boom!, London’s newest and most advanced indoor cycling gyms.
The Boom! founders are American model and entrepreneur Hilary Gilbert, and British business partner Robert Rowland.
Boom! will launch its first location on Scrutton Street between Shoreditch and the City in late September, and further plans for expansion in London include locations in the West End, Chelsea, and Notting Hill. With the support of CSI and Nectar, Boom! is positioned to grow throughout the UK and Europe.
Boom! Cycle’s first location is 2,500 square foot purpose-built indoor cycling gym that will offer Londoners one of the most professionally instructed, convenient workouts in the city.
Hilary Gilbert, Managing Director of Boom! said: “We are thrilled to open our first location and start providing London with the very best indoor cycling class environment and instructors. We’ve taken the best aspects of indoor cycling gyms from around the world and combined them with the massive urban-cycling movement here in London and a little Shoreditch style to create a indoor cycling class experience that will be unrivalled.
We’ve been screening and recruiting the best indoor cycling instructors in London to join the Boom! movement, and we will also be hosting some of the most renowned guest indoor cycling instructors from around the world.
Our “drop-in” and internet-based model means there are no wasteful membership fees to pay at Boom!, its all about the indoor cycling experience. We can’t wait to revolutionize indoor cycling in London and the UK.
Roman Dubov, President of CSI said:
“We at CSI are immensely proud to add our name and to be investing in such an exciting project as BOOM!, and to be in at the ground level of what is a ground breaking venture in London, and hope that the “wheels” keep on spinning to great success.
This opportunity becomes even more exceptional as we are seizing it with someone as experienced and professional as Nectar Capital.’’
Scott Rudmann, Managing Partner of Nectar Capital said:
“Nectar is delighted to co-invest alongside CSI in the Boom! roll out. The founders are dynamic and talented entrepreneurs and the Boom! concept is compelling not to mention sweat-inducing, with a very bright future. CSI has built an enviable portfolio of sports assets and investments that touches over 1 billion people through broadcast and events, and we are delighted that Boom! can benefit from its participation in CSI’s growing sports keiretsu.”
For more information or visuals, please contact:
www.boommybody.com
Matthew Barrett, Hill & Knowlton Sports PR
020 7413 3714 / matthew.barrett@hillandknowlton.com
About Convers Sports Initiatives
CSI is a rapidly growing sports, new media and entertainment company including a portfolio of independent but complementary businesses. These comprise ownership of Sports Teams (Portsmouth FC), Sports Formats (PowerPlay Golf) and Sports Rights representation (North One Sport – the global promoter of WRC and Isle of Man TT). In addition CSI has acquired companies in the new media sector which produce Apps, websites and manage social media activity for sports clients (DBG Convers), enable sports video content to be uploaded online (Sportpost) and publish weekly online content of F1, WRC and MotoGP (GP Week). In the B2B sector CSI owns a leading sports Conference company (Executive Sport) which runs the acclaimed “Leaders In” events.
About Nectar Capital
Nectar Capital is a private equity and hedge fund manager based in London, founded in 2002 by Scott Rudmann. Its private equity funds focus on growth capital stage deals in media and leisure, while its hedge fund Nectar Value delivers strong returns with lower volatility targets for its ultra-high-net-worth and instutional clients.
Nectar Capital acted as financial advisor to Boom!, in addition to co-investing with Convers Sports Initiatives and other private investors in the transaction.
Opening September 2011 in the heart of Shoreditch, BOOM! Cycle is a 2,500 square foot purpose-built indoor cycling gym that will offer Londoners one of the most professionally instructed, convenient and efficient workouts in the city.
The first in what will be a chain of indoor cycling gyms in and around London and the UK, BOOM! Cycle will do indoor cycling, all day, every day.
Each week, an array of classes, individually styled by BOOM!’s team of highly trained instructors and scheduled at times to suit everyone, will guarantee an awesome cardiovascular workout, burning maximum calories (500-700 in 45 minutes) in minimum time. Challenging, effective and fun, these cardio sessions will also tone the lower body, blitz fat, strengthen the heart and lungs and decrease stress.
With its exposed brickwork, industrial feel and street art flourishes, BOOM! Cycle will take its inspiration from the surrounding neighbourhood. Fully air-conditioned, the studio itself will house 39 top-of-the-range Schwinn AC Sport bikes, each equipped with MPower Sport bike consoles. The latter will display RPM, Stage Time, Total Time, Telemetry Heart Rate and Calories Used.
The space will also feature male and female changing rooms and showers and a comfortable lounge area where customers can buy drinks and snacks along with clothing, indoor cycling shoes and other merchandise.
The indoor cycling bike first rode its way into gyms in 1987. Since then these classes have been embraced by fitness enthusiasts the world over, thanks to the fun and effective workout they offer and the atmosphere of group camaraderie and focus they create.
Yet despite the huge popularity of indoor cycling classes, there are currently only two other gyms in London THAT SPECIALIZE IN INDOOR CYCLING. The concept however is already a proven one on the other side of the Atlantic where Soul Cycle, a New-York based chain of bespoke indoor cycling gyms, was recently named by American Vogue as one of the nation´s “most wanted”.
Unlike Soul Cycle however, where a class fee will set you back $32, clients will get a lot more burn for their buck at BOOM! Cycle.
BOOM! Cycle will offer clients the cost-saving – and flexibility – of pay-per-class rather than a fixed monthly membership. The average cost of a class at BOOM! Cycle will be only £12.50, with great discounts given for both block and group bookings. Lower than class fees at similar specialised fitness centres, this price point will make BOOM! Cycle easily affordable as a supplement to or as a replacement for gym membership elsewhere.
Giving its clients the most professional and comfortable indoor cycling experience, BOOM! Cycle will advocate the use of spd clip cycle-shoes. These will be available to hire at a cost of £1 per session.
New to the craze? It doesn’t take any special skills or ability to enjoy a class at BOOM! Cycle, just a desire to try something different. But to break the ice, the gym offers two classes per week for “first timers”.
BOOM! Cycle will also offer a “30-minute Express” lunchtime class on weekdays to accommodate the most time-pressed patrons. This class will be designed to burn the optimum amount of calories in a short space of time.
BOOM! Cycle is the creation of model and indoor cycling aficionado Hilary Gilbert who took her first class back in 2002 when she started modelling. She continued to use indoor cycling as a way to stay in shape for her career, taking classes in Miami, New York, Los Angeles and throughout London. Hilary has thus seen a wide range of styles and standards – experience which has proved invaluable when developing BOOM! Cycle Hilary’s co-director is Robert Rowland, formerly of leading bar consultancy, Sweet & Chilli.
Says Hilary: “BOOM! Cycle was born out of a desire to create an indoor cycling gym that offered the skill, level of knowledge, fun and convenience of times that was evident in some specialised classes in the States but lacking here. We will hire leading instructors from the UK and abroad and use some of the best specialist indoor cycling equipment. Most important of all, we will be the antithesis of faceless, soulless corporate gyms. Our clients will leave BOOM! exhausted, but they’ll do so with a smile on their face!”
So there you have it. Not only will BOOM! Cycle be the most innovative of indoor cycling-only gyms in London, it will also offer the capital its quickest, most effective and convenient way to burn those calories!
About Convers Sports Initiatives
CSI is a rapidly growing sports, new media and entertainment company including a portfolio of independent but complementary businesses. These comprise ownership of Sports Teams (Portsmouth FC), Sports Formats (PowerPlay Golf) and Sports Rights representation (North One Sport – the global promoter of WRC and Isle of Man TT). In addition CSI has acquired companies in the new media sector which produce Apps, websites and manage social media activity for sports clients (DBG Convers), enable sports video content to be uploaded online (Sportpost) and publish weekly online content of F1, WRC and MotoGP (GP Week). In the B2B sector CSI owns a leading sports Conference company (Executive Sport) which runs the acclaimed “Leaders In” events.
Companies which are managed Workforce Bank Limited: Davencourt Enterprises Limited , WFBLondon Limited, Workforce Bank Limited have received end of year (2009-2010) account report. All the companies in the group showed steady revenue growth comparing to previous year, and on aggregate showed a 40% growth.
Workforce Bank together with Convers Sports Initiatives Plc has bought a controlling block of shares in PowerPlay Golf Holding Limited (www.powerplay-golf.com).
WFB London has become a co-owner of Prince Tower Private Finance LLP (www.PrinceTower.com). Prince Tower Private Finance LLP offers financing programs that allows individuals and small businesses.
WFB London became a co-founder of Convers Sports Initiatives Plc, which will be looking into and investing in deals in sports – Formula 1, WRC, golf, football and ice-hockey.
WFB London and Davencourt Enterprises made an investment in 4 houses at the elite resort on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean – Retallak Resort and Spa 5* Luxury Catered Houses – www.retallackresort.co.uk. One of the most luxury and popular surfing resorts in UK.
Gator Golf and its co-founder – WFB London together with Playa Macenas Golf Course are opening offices in Spain.
Managing Director of Workforce Bank Limited – Mr R. Dubov participated in the third COMESA-Investment Forum 2010 in Sharm El Sheih. More than 4 investment agreements in the construction, banking and energy sectors in Africa were signed.
WORKFORCE BANK became an exclusive partner of Aurora Russia. The partnership is selling goldmining fields called Zagen Gol. Experts estimate that the mines are ones of the three largest deposits of gold of Buryatia and Irkutsk regions of Russia. If you have any questions please contact us at info@wfblondon.co.uk.
Workforce Bank in partnership with Davencourt Enterprises has invested £400,000 in the purchase of offices and warehouse space in Dulwich Business Centre.
Workforce Bank in partnership with Davencourt Enterprises bought 50% of Gator Golf Balls Uk Limited - leader in the sale of Lake Golf Balls in England with an annual turnover of 20 million golf balls. The biggest sales come from supermarkets and the Internet. For sales information, please visit www.gator-golf.co.uk or buy golf balls online at www.golfballsdeal.com.
WFB ltd has become a partner of Moscow Metropolitan.
WFB Ltd in collaboration with CIP Ukraine participated in construction of plants for wood recycling in the Ukraine. 1 million USD was invested into the project.
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