SPORTL, a London-based pay-as-you-train fitness booking platform, has launched today across app stores after closing a £250K pre-seed funding round backed by industry experts.
With over 300 gyms spoken to about joining the app, SPORTL goes live today with 50 London-based gym studios and fitness centres available to book on the platform. Those studios include Common Bond, home to London’s most iconic fitness and wellbeing destinations such as Boom Cycle, Triyoga, Barrecore, and Reformcore, as well as other boutique studios including RFRM, TrainYard, Revolt Cycling, Manor, and Reformer Collective.
Ryan Lovelock, Co-Founder of SPORTL, commented: “My co-founder Matt and I spent the last year walking the streets of London, sitting down and talking first hand with gym owners and managers to understand what is missing in the industry, and if SPORTL could be the answer. Seeing SPORTL launch today and physically opening the app is a dream come true. Our mission is to work alongside gym owners, giving them the flexibility and transparency they deserve from a booking platform. We’re incredibly proud of what we’ve built, and we can’t wait for SPORTL to become part of people’s everyday routines, helping them book classes on their terms, whenever it suits them.”
The investment round saw participation from notable strategic partners and investors. This includes Kevin Hewitt, former EMEA Chairman of FTI Consulting – who will also join as Chairman of the Board for SPORTL, James Hardy, former Deliveroo executive and co-founder of Bioniq, the personalised supplements company, and recruitment entrepreneur and health tech investor Jamie Hearne.
This pre-seed investment will see SPORTL cement itself as a go to booking platform for fitness in London, before looking at its expansion across other major UK cities. The funding will also see the roll out of new features once the initial product and offering has been established.
Commenting on his appointment and investment, Kevin Hewitt said: “SPORTL is revolutionising the fitness industry, bridging a real gap in the market where spare gym capacity meets the need for spontaneous demand. The early traction has been impressive, and I’m proud to be part of what Matt and Ryan are building. This is just the beginning, and I look forward to being part of the journey ahead.”
Katrina Fox, Founder of RFRM: “As an independent studio, filling underutilised capacity without diluting our brand or membership value is something every owner thinks about. Opening your doors to external booking platforms can feel like a scary ride, there’s always that fear of losing control of your pricing, your community, and ultimately the value of each booking. RFRM. was founded on the belief that movement should feel accessible and community-led, and SPORTL gives people a way to find us without the barrier of a commitment they’re not ready to make. When you introduce new people in the right way, everyone wins – That’s how you build a loyal fitness community and absolutely something I am happy to be a part of.”
Tony Chin, Founder of Amica Shoreditch: “Users who access our classes through ClassPass don’t want a membership because they already have one. We’re only losing money and looking at the SPORTL model here, it means that even if we gave them the price that ClassPass are offering then we’d actually make some money. If we converted every ClassPass member we would have thousands of pounds however, we often make nothing and have to turn away our own members; we look busy, but we’re struggling.”
SPORTL has appointed two new critical hires as part of the investment round. Lucy Gray, a fitness influencer with over 12K followers, has been appointed as SPORTL’s Marketing Manager, and Sean Sevant as Partnerships Manager who brings nearly a decade of sales expertise from David Lloyd Leisure.
You can download the SPORTL app on both iOS and Android app stores.
