Company

Craig Stephens is a Somerset-based entrepreneur and owner of Trident Fitness. He has a proven track record of fitting out and running a chain of successful gyms across the South West of England.

Funding Requirement

Craig secured a £200,000 funding deal with Reward to grow his Trident Fitness equipment brand and complete the equipment fit-out at his third gym in Yeovil.

Finance Solution

The flexibility of funding we provided was integral in buying the Trident Fitness equipment for retail and fitting out the new Yeovil gym. It also enabled him to secure a plot of land behind his home in Glastonbury with the long-term aim of transforming it into a glamping and camping site, for his other business.

Craig opened his first gym in Bridgwater in 2019 and doubled its size during the pandemic by acquiring an adjacent unit. Building on the success of the 24-hour boxing themed Bridgwater venue, Craig launched a second gym earlier this year in Weston-super-Mare and currently employs ten people across his two gyms whilst eyeing expansion with the Yeovil location.

David Owen, Business Development Director for Wales & the South West, commented: “Craig is obviously a very successful and respected entrepreneur in the region and has a proven track record of opening and running gyms. When he approached us, we knew that he required funding at pace to both ensure the opening in Yeovil was not delayed and to further accelerate the sales growth of Trident’s brand of equipment.

“It’s been a pleasure to work closely with Craig and get under the skin of Trident, and his other business interests, to deliver a working capital facility that provides the springboard for further expansion and long-term success.”

Client Testimonial

“To treble the size of the Trident chain by opening our third gym in less than five years is a fantastic achievement and down to our vision for the business and the hard work of the talented team we have in place.

“We turned to Reward as we needed a no-nonsense lender that was able to provide an agile funding solution that could drive growth withinTrident but also be utilised across different areas of the businesses that I own. It has provided me with the vital working capital needed to fit out the Yeovil gym with state-of-the-art equipment and open it within a short timeframe rather than delaying it and incurring further costs.”

Craig Stephens, entrepreneur and owner of Trident Fitness