Slimming World founder says new building will mean more people can achieve their weight loss dreams

When she started her first weight loss group in Mansfield Woodhouse in 1969, Slimming World founder Margaret Miles-Bramwell OBE didn’t imagine that, 48 years later, her company would be the UK’s leading weight loss organisation, supporting hundreds of thousands of people every year to lose weight in friendly, supportive groups across the UK and Ireland.

The company’s huge success has led to the expansion of its Alfreton headquarters, with a brand new 75,000 sq foot building. A key milestone in the build has just been reached with the completion of the steel framework and this was celebrated with a ‘signing of the steel’ ceremony. The new building will provide a state-of-the-art training centre for the 4,500 franchisee Consultants, who run slimming groups in their local communities, as well as creating more space for its 350 head office staff, and will support the company’s future growth plans.

The distinctive two-storey building was designed by Nottingham architects CMPG and is situated on the 4.6-acre site of Slimming World’s existing head office in Alfreton. Work has been carried out by construction and infrastructure company Morgan Sindall since March this year, with an anticipated completion date of Spring 2018.

Plans for development include advanced video conferencing facilities, a stylish new restaurant and more office space. It will also have two fully-equipped training rooms, which will create a new home for the Slimming World Academy, where Consultants will receive specialist training in nutrition, behaviour change techniques and the psychology of weight loss.

Margaret Miles-Bramwell, who carried out the signing at the steel ceremony, says: ““Slimming World started life in Derbyshire with the first group I ran in Alfreton on Monday nights in 1969. As a 21-year-old who’d struggled with weight myself, it was my dream to help people shed the misery of excess weight with a programme that was empowering, liberating and enjoyable. At the time, I never could have imagined that we would go on to help so many people to achieve their weight loss dreams each week.“Our head office is important because it’s home to our dedicated teams who work exceptionally hard to support our fantastic Consultants who, in turn, ensure our members receive the very best service – and that all starts in Derbyshire. We’ve experienced huge growth in the last few years, and this new building will ensure we have the facilities to give our people a great working environment and a bigger, state of the art training centre.“People have always been the heart of Slimming World’s success and so ensuring that our people – our head office staff and Consultants – have the facilities and environment they need to do the best job possible has been a real priority for us. I’m delighted that we have now reached this milestone in the building process and we are confident that our fabulous new building will ensure that we continue to be at the forefront of weight management, so special thanks go to Morgan Sindall, whose professionalism during this construction has been outstanding.”