Exercise the Easy was as pay-as-you-go fitness clubs join Stelios brand

Fitness clubs will be the latest sector to get the no-frills treatment from billionaire entrepreneur Stelios Haji-Ioannou's "Easy" brand.

EasyGym will shun luxury offerings - such as swimming pools and saunas - to offer basic gym facilities. Users will be able to sign up on a month-by-month basis, instead of being tied in for a year, with additions such as classes and personal trainer sessions available on a pay-as-you-go basis.

Paul Lorimer-Wing, joint chief executive of EasyGym, said: "We're ripping up the rule book in the fitness sector by ensuring members pay for the stuff they use, not the stuff they never use."

He said the firm aimed to become a "leading player in the European market" in the coming years.

Stelios's foray into the fitness sector comes after he teamed up with private equity-backed Fore Fitness last year. Fore Fitness, which is an offshoot of venture capital firm Fore Capital Partners, has arranged a brand licensing deal with Stelios to use the Easy name for the business.

Serial entrepreneur Stelios owns the Easy brand and licenses it to businesses through his investment vehicle EasyGroup.

The gyms will also display the distinctive orange theme associated with the name. EasyGym is a private company owned by Fore Fitness.

The first two EasyGyms will open this summer after the company took on sites in Slough and Wood Green in London from Virgin Active.

The Slough gym will open in June, followed by Wood Green in July, and members will be able to sign up in advance.

The firm is looking to acquire more sites with the potential to deliver high footfall and has ambitious growth plans. It intends to launch further venues in 2011, and start adding ten a year across the UK from 2012 - with Europe also in its sights.