John Treharne was appointed Chair of the Board and Nomination Committee for The Gym Group in July 2022.
John is a former accountant and England squash player whose experience in the fitness industry spans 35 years. In 1991 John started his first gym business, Dragons Health Clubs, which listed on the London Stock Exchange in 1997 with 22 clubs. Dragons was sold in 2000. He then lent his expertise to premium gym chain Esporta, before he founded The Gym Group in 2008.
The Gym Group pioneered the high value, low cost gym model in the UK with no-contract memberships, 24/7 operations and online sign-up. In November 2015, The Gym Group became the first UK health and fitness company to debut on the London Stock Exchange in over 15 years. John stepped down as CEO of The Gym Group in September 2018 but remains as Chair of the Plc Board. The Gym Group has grown to over 250 sites and 900,000 members making over 65 million visits annually.
In 2025, John was appointed Chair for The Padel Club, one of the UK’s fastest-growing padel operators. John is also a Board member for ukactive and EuropeActive fitness sector associations. He is also a speaker at Beyond Activ Europe in Madrid, Spain.
