Wonder
Ex-Pizza Delivery Driver, 29, Who Founded Gymshark From His Parent’s Garage Is In Line For £700M Fortune
Never give up your dreams!
In 2012, Ben Francis founded an online sportswear juggernaut Gymshark in his parent’s garage. Fast forward to 2021, the entrepreneur driver could be in line for a fortune worth at least £700million as he eyes a London stock market listing. In recent months, the £1billion brand is reported to have been aggressively pitched to by investment bankers.
Ben Francis dropped out of Aston University to build his brand, Gymshark, while also delivering pizza at night.
But the company, which has highlighted a goal to expand into a broader range of health-related products, is expected to take place in London and, according to Sky News, could be announced within months. Mr. Francis had sold a 21% stake in the company to the US private equity firm General Atlantic.
The 29-Year-Old started his brand in his parent’s garage, and now, the firm is worth £1billion.
And still, with a controlling stake of over 70%, the 29-Year-Old is in line to land its most prominent if the brand goes public. Before this milestone, Mr. Francis had dropped out of a business degree at Aston University in Birmingham to build his brand, establish clothing for the gym with school friend Lewis Morgan, and deliver pizza at night.
In recent months, the brand has been ‘aggressively’ pitched to by investment bankers.
Fortunately, Gymshark is now a hit with customers for its cost-effective leggings and sports bra. An increase of an estimated 800K followers was witnessed on Instagram during the COVID, thanks to the demand for athleisure wear as people worked majorly from home.
Much of the Gymshark clothing is designed to flaunt one’s figure.
According to the Sunday Times Rich List, due to the company’s use of fitness influencers who act as paid ambassadors, Mr. Francis is now recognized as one of Britain’s richest self-made people under 30. A spokesman for Gymshark told Sky News that they regularly speak to financial institutions to ensure they are connected to the business world amid learning.
With school friend Lewis Morgan, Francis had set up Gymshark from his parent’s garage when he was just 19.
“Any recent conversations we have had have been about introducing these organizations to Gymshark and our journey so far.” The spokesman added. According to the Times, Mr. Francis started making fitness tracking apps on his iPhone as a teenager. He soon migrated into selling nutrition supplements, making £2 profits on his first £50 deal.
By posting selfies, fans of the brand have been sharing their workout regimes to inspire others.
This didn’t go down well, so Mr. Francis ventured into buying a sewing machine and a screen printer to create a range of hoodies, muscle-enhanced strings vests, and T-shirts. His first £30K batch of products under his Gymshark brand had reportedly sold out within 30 minutes of going online. Amid the pandemic, the business-minded donated £180K to Birmingham’s women’s and children’s hospital where his mom works.
While the first batch of Gymshark clothing sold out online within 30 minutes, the company is now one of Britain’s fastest-growing businesses.
