Mike is a Chartered Accountant and the Founder and Co Chairman of Fitness First, which he set up in 1992. The business is now the world's largest health club chain operating in more than 18 countries with 1.5 million Members and over 530 clubs worldwide. Mike is also a Founder Shareholder and Director of Yacht Plus, the fractional super yacht business.

After working as a senior management consultant at Bain and Company in the late '80s, Stephen has since set up and managed a number of different successful businesses, including QMS, which was originally formed in 1993 and became a leading organiser of technology exhibitions and conferences and Networks Direct, another technology business. He has a Masters from the London Business School, and an MBA from IMD in Switzerland.

John is Chairman of both Debenhams and Somerfield, and has been involved in a number of private equity deals, including Fitness First, Homebase, Odeon Cinemas, Laurel High Street, Birthdays Group, and Peacock. He was previously COO of Tarmac, and FD of Sears plc.

Helmut is an experienced institutional and private investor, with board involvement in a number of early and late stage businesses. He also has a successful track record in the financial markets (IPOs, M&As) as a senior corporate financier with Merrill Lynch and UBS.

Clive has had a long and distinguished career in senior management, including serving as CEO in Grand Metropolitan and the property group Mountleigh. He is currently Chairman of the Cancer Research pension fund and is involved in a number of other public and charity projects. He has particular expertise in the area of corporate governance.

Simeon qualified as a Chartered Accountant with Arthur Andersen in 1994. He subsequently held a number of roles in Investment Banking in London before joining Fitness First in 2002 as their European Finance & Operations Executive. Simeon then spent two and a half years in Australia during which he held the position of Head of Finance for AMP’s wealth management arm. After returning to the UK he joined Xchanging Plc, a FTSE 250 company, as the Finance Director for Xchanging Broking Services.