Branson plans to open Virgin Hotels across SA

"SA is moving forward at a rapid pace and, as an outsider, I would tell my friends that their money is safe here," he said.

Speaking at Virgin Active Health Club's Boulders gym in Midrand Wednesday, 2 February 2011, he said he wanted to open hotels under his Virgin brand worldwide and SA was one of the countries included in his plans.

There are already leisure venues that Virgin owns in tourist spots such as the Kruger National Park, but the hotels would become part of a chain offering a traditional hotel experience under the banner of Virgin Hotels.

He did not say when SA's new hotels would be ready for use.

Virgin Active 10th anniversary

Branson also remains "very excited" about the Virgin Active gym business he started in SA a decade ago.

He was in SA for the 10th anniversary of Virgin's Health Club business, which he developed here after he received a request from former president Nelson Mandela asking him to save the failing Health & Racquet Club chain. Since then, Virgin Active has become one of SA's major health club operators.

"I was in a bath in the countryside when I was told the president of SA was on the phone," he said. "Nelson Mandela asked me to help an industry that was nearly bankrupt."

Virgin inherited 76 clubs from Health & Racquet in 2001. It has made a capital investment of more than R1bn in the past decade, opening 24 new clubs and growing revenue 650%, while increasing its membership base by about 200%, Virgin Active SA MD Ross Faragher-Thomas said Wednesday.

More activity

There are also plans to open eight to 10 Virgin Active Health Clubs across SA each year for "at least the next 10 years", Branson said.

The group has one Classic, or premier, branch in Melrose Arch, which has the highest membership fees of all of its clubs.

A second Classic branch will open at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban later this month, while the first general-style club will open in Soweto's Maponya Mall in July.

"Post-apartheid SA offers a new market as people now have some money that they can use for their health," he said.

He was also impressed with the growth of Virgin Active in Spain and Portugal despite high levels of unemployment there.

Branson also brought entrepreneurs from the UK and the US with him to mentor participants in his entrepreneurial project in SA's townships. He said entrepreneurship "pulls people out of the poverty trap".

Source: Business Day