£1m deal to revive Shrewsbury's Welti fitness centre

A deal to take over Shrewsbury's Welti Health and Fitness Centre was struck at more than £1 million, it was revealed today.

The seven-figure sum was paid by officials at Mosaic Spa and Health Clubs to take over the Sundorne Road venue on Wednesday – the same day that outgoing owners Welti Leisure Ltd fell into administration. It has secured the jobs of 50 employees at the health club.

The club will be renamed The Shrewsbury Club on January 1.

The new owners have also pledged to pump "hundreds of thousands of pounds" into an expansion in the summer, creating new jobs.

The upgrade will see existing facilities such as tennis courts, a fully equipped gym, swimming pool, steam room and sauna all improved for the centre's 2,500 members.

Dave Courteen, Mosaic managing director, said the deal was worth more than £1 million. He added the centre had become tired-looking and had plans to bring back its "sparkle".

He said: "The intention is to breathe some life back into the centre by investing in it and we hope to look at plans to expand it sometime in the summer of next year.

"We will be putting hundreds of thousands of pounds into Welti and we will eventually be looking to bring in some extra staff.

"We are really excited to be involved in this new project."

Stephen Welti, outgoing owner, said: "We've been doing other events to keep the business going in difficult times and I'm sad and frustrated about what's happened – but that's a sign of the times.

"I'm hoping to carry on working on the tennis side of things but more as an employee."

Mosaic Spa and Health Clubs, based in Norwich, run 28 other fitness centres across the UK. The Sundorne Road centre, which first opened in January 2005, will remain open throughout the transition to new ownership.

By David Seadon