Weighing up the benefits

While estate agents and developers cannot command the same rent for gym spaces as they can for offices, many view them as a loss leader that will attract other tenants to a building

Gyms can be a magnet for other businesses in a shopping centre by attracting more footfall, or add value to an office development

Gyms and various forms of fitness centres are extending their choice of rental properties from which to operate, and some landlords are welcoming them. They have come a long way since the crash when some out-of-work sports people availed of the plenitude of empty warehouses with cheap rents to start their own fitness businesses ranging from yoga classes to personal training.

Now some of the newer operators, both Irish and overseas, are moving ...