Ben Francis to lead Gymshark as chief executive again

Co-founder of multinational fitness wear brand Gymshark, Ben Francis, will be leading the company as chief executive again.

Ben, aged 29, stepped back from the chief executive position four years ago, and has since held a number of senior marketing, brand and product roles within the business.

Gymshark has since been led by Steve Hewitt, who took over from Ben in 2017.

Steve will, from August, take up the role of executive president of the multimillion pound business.

He joined the Solihull-headquartered firm in 2014, progressing to chief executive in 2017. Steve has spearheaded the building up of the senior leadership team at Gymshark, and has been responsible for exponential growth of the brand on a global scale.

Gymshark, established by Ben (pictured) in 2012, was ranked first in the Sunday Times Profit 2020 track list yesterday, recording an increase of 156.20 per cent in profits in the year ended July, 2019.

The company 's profits have rocketed from £1.1 million in 2016 to £18.6 million in 2019 on sales of £176.2 million. About half of Gymshark 's revenue is generated in America.

The business announced last month that it plans to open three new warehouses in the US this year.

In 2020, American growth equity business General Atlantic has acquired a stake in Solihull-based Gymshark, in a deal that valued the fitness apparel brand at more than £1billion.

Announcing the news via social media, Ben Francis said: “My vision for the future of Gymshark has never been more clear, we have a once in a generation chance to create a brand that genuinely, is one of the greatest brands in the world. ”

Gymshark is a patron of Future Faces Chamber.