Draft:Greenwich Leisure Limited (GLL)

Greenwich Leisure Ltd (GLL) is a British charitable social enterprise, headquartered in London, United Kingdom. The company operates leisure centres, sports venues, children’s centres, libraries, and cultural services across the UK.

The company was founded in 1993 in the Royal Borough of Greenwich to run Greenwich Council’s leisure service. It has since grown to become the UK’s biggest social enterprise leisure provider. . Its headquarters remain at the Royal Arsenal, Woolwich, London.

GLL, which trades under the name Better, operates 375 facilities. It runs 258 pools, gyms, and sports halls in areas including Manchester, Newcastle, Cardiff, Belfast, Cumbria, Cornwall and Bath, as well as several London boroughs.

It is the UK’s largest public pools operator and tennis provider, as well as the UK’s largest provider of school swimming lessons. As well as sports and leisure centres, GLL operates 113 libraries and cultural centres, and 10 children’s centres. It does this in partnership with 50 local councils, public agencies, and sporting organisations. Although GLL primarily focuses on running leisure and cultural services for local government, it has also bought major sports venues, a lido, trampoline parks, and other health and fitness facilities.

GLL employs 14,000 people, receives 54 million visits per year, and turns over more than £310,000 annually. The company is an accredited Living Wage Employer.

The company officially celebrated its 30th birthday on 1 July 2023. To mark the occasion, a five-year corporate plan was unveiled. This will see GLL reduce its environmental impact and collaborate with the NHS to support mental wellbeing and recovery. The plan aims to deliver £2 billion of social value, and help one million people become more active.

Structure

GLL is an employee-owned, mutual social enterprise. It has a co-operative structure and is staff-led. It is a non-profit distributing organisation governed by a stakeholder board.

It is constituted as a “society for the benefit of the community”. This means its profits are reinvested in the service and the community, rather than paid to shareholders as dividends.

GLL has 850,000 user-members. Users can become members by paying a £25 admission fee, plus a £1 annual subscription. This allows them to elect the board of trustees at the annual general meeting.

History

In 1993, public spending cuts meant that leisure centres in the London borough of Greenwich were run-down, losing money, and facing closure. Several hundred jobs were at risk. The council needed to find a new way to run its leisure centres, one that combined public sector values with private-sector freedoms.

Greenwich Leisure Ltd was established using the structure of an Industrial & Provident Society. This gives members one vote regardless of their shareholding, making it democratically, rather than financially, oriented.

When Greenwich’s leisure centres were saved from closure, other local authorities took an interest in the model for their own leisure centres. GLL began operating in other London boroughs, including Waltham Forest, Merton, and Newham. Since then, the model has been adopted by more than 50 local authorities across the UK.

In summer 2023, it was announced that GLL will take over running Enfield’s six council-owned leisure centres. These will operate under its brand name, Better.

Chairman

Peter Bundey was appointed chief executive of GLL in January 2023. Previously GLL’s deputy managing director, he has been with the company since 1996.

The previous chief executive was Mark Sesnan, who co-founded GLL in 1993. In 2022 he was awarded an OBE for services to the leisure industry.

GLL/local authority leisure-centre and sports-centre growth

1993-2000

• Royal Borough of Greenwich 1993

• London Borough of Waltham Forest 1997

• London Borough of Merton 2000

2001-2010

• Epsom & Ewell Borough Council 2003

• London Borough of Barnet 2003

• Crystal Palace National Sports Centre 2004

• London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham 2004

• London Borough of Tower Hamlets 2004

• London Borough of Camden 2005

• London Borough of Hackney 2006

• Reading Borough Council 2006

• London Borough of Hillingdon 2009

2011-2020

• Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea 2011

• Reigate & Banstead Borough Council 2011

• City of Cambridge 2013

• Rugby Borough Council 2013

• London Borough of Islington 2014

• Swindon Borough Council 2014

• Vale of White Horse District Council 2014

• Bath & North East Somerset Council 2015

• Belfast City Council 2015

• Cardiff City Council 2016

• Wembley Leisure Centre 2016

• Cornwall Council 2017

• Preston City Council 2017

• York City Council 2017

• East Cambridgeshire District Council 2018

• North Kesteven District Council 2018

• Sugden Leisure Centre 2019

• Vauxhall Leisure Centre 2019

• Cambridge Ice Centre 2019

2021-

• London Borough of Lewisham 2020

• Gunnersbury Sports Hub 2021

• North Kesteven District Council – The Hub 2023 Leisure Trust Mergers

Leisure Trust Mergers

Nexus Leisure 2011

• Buckinghamshire Council (South Bucks)

• Sprinters Sports Centre (Prestwood)

• South Oxfordshire District Council

• West Oxfordshire District Council

Tone Leisure 2014

• Somerset Council (Taunton & Deane)

• South Hams District Council

Carlisle Community Leisure 2015

Cumberland Council (Allerdale)

Cumberland Council (Carlisle)

North Country Leisure 2016

• Cumberland Council (Copeland)

• Newcastle City Council

• Westmoreland & Furness (Eden)

• Westmoreland & Furness (South Lakes)

Finesse Leisure Ltd 2018

• Welwyn & Hatfield Borough Council

Basingstoke Sports Trust 2022

• Basingstoke Leisure Centre

• Newbury Better Fitness Centre

GLL Sport Foundation

Since 2008, GLL has operated the GLL Sport Foundation. The UK’s largest independent athlete award programme, it provides talented athletes with bursaries, training and access memberships, and physiotherapy. Athletes are also helped with the cost of preparing for national and international competition.

Over 15 years, the GLL Sport Foundation has provided athletes with more than 25,000 awards totalling £14 million. A new partnership with Switch the Play Foundation allows the GSF to offer mental-wellbeing support.

GLL Sport Foundation chairman

The Foundation is chaired by GLL chief executive Peter Bundey.

GLL Sport Foundation patron

GLL Sport Foundation’s patron is British track and field athlete Sally Gunnell OBE.

Major sporting/event venues

In 2012, following the Summer Olympics, GLL worked with the London Legacy Development Corporation to manage the Copper Box Arena. This multi-sport venue in Stratford, East London, is used for community use, athlete training, and major events.

In 2012 it was also announced that GLL would take over the running of the London Aquatics Centre, designed by architect Zaha Hadid. This indoor facility in London’s Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park has three pools, including a 50-metre competition pool.

The facility also has a 25-metre diving pool and is home to the British Diving High Performance Centre, run as a collaboration between GLL and British Diving. The centre’s head coach is Olympic trainer Jane Figueiredo, who has four Olympic Games under her belt.

Also operating from the London Aquatics Centre is the Tom Daley Diving Academy, run in partnership with Olympic medallist diver Tom Daley. The Academy offers programmes for all ages and abilities. In 2015, the Tom Daley Diving Academy launched at the Manchester Aquatics Centre (MAC).

In 2014, GLL partnered with Manchester City Council to run a range of elite sporting venues and community facilities under the Manchester Active (MCRactive) platform. These include:

• Abraham Moss Leisure Centre

• Arcadia Library and Leisure Centre

• Ardwick Sports Hall

• Belle View Sports Village

• Broadway Leisure Centre

• Debdale Outdoor Centre

• Denmark Road Sports Centre

• East Manchester Leisure Centre

• Ghyll Head Outdoor Education & Activity Centre

• Hough End Leisure Centre

• Manchester Aquatics Centre

• Moss Side Leisure Centre

• National Cycling Centre

• National Speedway Stadium

• National Squash Centre

• North City Family & Fitness Centre

• Platt Fields Park BMX Track

• Ten Acres Lane Complex

• Whalley Range Sport Centre In 2022, GLL began a 10-year partnership with Lee Valley Regional Park Authority (LVRPA) in Greater London, Essex, and Hertfordshire. GLL now operates both its Olympic legacy venues and regional major venues:

• Lee Valley Athletics Centre

• Lee Valley Hockey & Tennis Centre

• Lee Valley Ice Centre

• Lee Valley Riding Centre

• Lee Valley Velo Park

• Lee Valley White Water Centre

Libraries

GLL began operating public libraries in 2012 under the leadership of Diana Edmunds MBE. This began in London’s Royal Borough of Greenwich, before expanding into other boroughs including Wandsworth, Dudley, and Bromley.

GLL also manages library facilities in a number of UK prisons.

• Royal Borough of Greenwich 2012

• London Borough of Wandsworth 2013

• Lincolnshire County Council 2016

• Dudley Borough Council 2017

• London Borough of Bromley 2017

• Library facilities in a number of HMP prisons

GLL’s libraries are among the most used in the country. Figures published by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance Accountants (CIPFA) show that book issues and visits are some of the highest in the UK.

This is credited to free computers, printing and scanning services, along with increased programming for young people, extended hours, and customer-friendly technology (eg. self-issue and return).

Leadership

Diana Edmunds stepped down from her role as national libraries director in April 2023.

Rebecca Gediking is GLL’s interim head of libraries. She is responsible for overseeing the management and direction of more than 100 UK libraries.

Acquisitions

As GLL grew, it acquired a number of community leisure and sport venues that were either closed or needed extra support to secure their future. These include:

• Charlton Lido & Lifestyle Centre 2011

• Better Gym Bexleyheath 2011

• Better Gym Romford 2013

• Barking Sporthouse 2014

• Better Gym Sidcup 2015

• Gosling Sports Park 2016

• Sutton Sports Village 2016

Between 2011 and 2017, GLL also bought out a number of community health and fitness facilities from private-sector operators Fitspace and Fitness First.

GLL Community Foundation

The GLL Community Foundation supports local projects that encourage people to be active, learn or play together. This could include creating a sports league, organising a tournament, or setting up a community library