Budget health club operator The Gym Group has appointed Nick Henwood to the newly-created role of operations director.

Henwood will be tasked with overseeing 200 operational management employees, 1,100 self-employed personal trainers and a number of third party service-related businesses – as well as being responsible for the delivery of sales, retention targets and yield management for all 82 locations of The Gym.

He has also been made part of The Gym Group’s Executive Committee and will be involved in decision making regarding the strategic direction of the business and the selection of new gyms which are key to the company’s growth plan.

Henwood joins the 24-hour gym group from David Lloyd Leisure, where he was UK and European operations director. Prior to working in the fitness sector, he held senior operational positions at Autoglass, Mothercare, Sainsbury’s and Marks and Spencer.

“I’m looking forward to driving the continued growth of the company,” said Henwood. “I want to ensure we deliver a great value, member-focussed product and build on the outstanding company culture that CEO John Treharne has created since he founded the business in 2007.”

The Gym Group currently operates 82 gyms and has more than 400,000 active members.