Kate Henebury franchise owner the Little Gyms in Harrogate & Leeds wins the Little Gym Europe’s Franchisee of the Year Award
Kate was crown Franchisee of the Year at The Little Gym Europe’s convention on the 13th & 14th October at Phantasialand in Germany.
Kate has always been passionate about fitness. As a child she would try every sport that she could get her hands on. She didn’t care if it involved a ball, a stick, a beam or a pair of goggles – She just wanted to do it!
That passion for movement led to a sports fitness degree at university, where she found her second passion – child development – and majored in the impact exercise, or lack of, has on their development.
Kate stumbled across The Little Gym through an old school friend. It sounded like a dream combination of child development and sport. But she wasn’t convinced that it could be as good as it sounded. So, she took her one-year-old daughter, Charlotte, to do a class at every The Little Gym in the UK.
Kate said when she walked in, it was always a wow moment. She was knocked out by how friendly and colorful each gym was, and how enthusiastic the staff were. The way they made her feel so welcome. It didn’t matter where she went, the facilities were always incredible and the experience was overwhelmingly positive.
Three’s a charm for ex-Army Kate
Kate Henebury opened her first The Little Gym franchise in Harrogate in 2010. She has been so successful and enjoyed running her gym so much that she has opened a second gym in Leeds and has decided to open a third gym in York.
Kate who was in the army for five years was working in recruitment when she first found out about The Little Gym franchise opportunity. Kate was looking for something that would fit around her young family and The Little Gym seemed like the perfect opportunity. Now, with three young children, Kate balances the day-to-day running of her gyms whilst making sure she spends valuable time with her family.
Kate said ‘’The Little Gym has given me great flexibility and it’s an area I really enjoy working in. I never get the Sunday night dread of going to work the next day. The gym is on my mind all the time but that’s just the nature of running your own business! My children love going to the gym and I’m really pleased I made the move.”
“I love the atmosphere at the gym, especially with the parents who are waiting in the lobby. I love teaching and working with my staff – it’s a really fun environment to be in.”
Kate said about winning the award: “I was very shocked to receive the Franchisee of the Year award, I feel extremely proud of myself. I think for the future, I’m going to stick at three gyms. If I opened any more in Yorkshire then they’d all be too far apart for me to spend the right amount of time in each’’.
Massive congratulations to Kate from all at The Little Gym Europe.
New Openings 2017
The Little Gym Europe has opened in Wemmel in Belgium (April 2017), Sofia in Bulgaria (April 2017) and Moscow (August 2017).
About The Little Gym
The Little Gym is an internationally recognized physical program that helps children build the developmental skills and confidence needed at each stage of childhood.
The very first location was established in 1976 by Robin Wes, an innovative educator with a genuine love for children. Today, The Little Gym International has more than 350 locations in 32 countries.
