Shafiq Ahmed

Shafiq Ahmed is a British Muslim entrepreneur of South Asian heritage whose career has spanned corporate finance, retail, social housing, and international development — a breadth of experience that directly shaped his approach to building NRG Gyms. After studying Business and Financial Services at London Metropolitan University, Ahmed held roles in financial services management, including a senior position at Harrods, and supported the launch of a microfinance bank in India — an experience that instilled in him a conviction that democratising access to valuable services is both commercially viable and socially important. He has also held roles at Peabody, the social housing provider, which deepened his understanding of community impact and the built environment.

Ahmed founded NRG Gyms in 2013, opening his first location in Gravesend after recognising that the UK gym market was failing a large segment of the population: people who wanted high-quality equipment, inclusive environments, and genuine community, but could not afford the membership fees of premium operators. His solution was the high-value, low-price model — operating 24/7 facilities with top-tier kit, dedicated zones for different training styles, and a deliberate community-building culture he calls the NRG Tribe. The first gym was profitable within 30 days of opening.

Over the following decade, Ahmed scaled NRG from that single site to a growing national estate, securing over £12 million in combined equity and debt funding including two rounds from Puma Growth Partners. A £5 million investment in 2018 supported the initial rollout; a £4 million follow-on in January 2025 is funding further expansion, data and analytics investment, and the back-office technology infrastructure needed for national scaling. In August 2025, NRG completed the acquisition of Pump Gyms, nearly doubling its location count and membership base. The company now operates sites in London, Manchester, Sheffield, Newcastle, Walsall, and other UK cities.

Ahmed has been appointed to the Board of Directors of the Health and Fitness Association, bringing an independent gym operator perspective to an organisation that shapes global fitness industry standards. His long-term ambition is to grow NRG to more than 100 UK locations, creating one of the country's most distinctive and inclusive gym brands — and demonstrating that community-led, affordability-first fitness can compete at scale with any operator in the sector.