Slimming World founder, Margaret Miles-Bramwell, opens new 75,000 sq ft building – 49 years after her first weight loss group

It was a day of sunshine and smiles in Alfreton as Margaret Miles-Bramwell OBE officially opened Slimming World’s new head office extension to delighted employees.

Some 350 members of staff witnessed the official ribbon-cutting ceremony before being invited to take a look around the new state-of-the-art building. The extension, which is situated on the 4.6-acre site of Slimming World’s existing head office in Alfreton, will house an advanced training centre for the 4,800 franchisee Consultants who run slimming groups in their local communities, as well as creating more space for its head office employees, supporting the company’s future growth plans.

The opening comes 49 years after Margaret started her very first weight-loss group in Mansfield Woodhouse in 1969 - little imagining that Slimming World would become the UK’s leading weight-loss organisation, supporting hundreds of thousands of people every year to lose weight and achieve their dreams.

Retaining Margaret’s strong East Midlands roots, the company has been located on the current Somercotes site, Derbyshire, since the early 1990s. Work began on the new extension in March 2017 and has been carried out by construction and infrastructure company Morgan Sindall. The new building also houses advanced video conferencing facilities, a stylish new restaurant and more office space. It also has two fully equipped training rooms creating a new home for the Slimming World Academy, where Consultants receive specialist training in nutrition, behaviour change techniques and psychology, including a compassionate, caring approach to weight loss support.

Margaret Miles-Bramwell says: “As Slimming World’s founder and chair, I couldn’t be more proud of all that we’ve achieved. When I held the very first Slimming World group 49 years ago I couldn’t have imagined how many lives we would go on to transform – for our members achieving their weight-loss dreams, and for those members who go on to become Consultants running their own small businesses.

“In those years, so much has changed – Slimming World has gone on to become the UK’s leading weight-loss organisation – helping hundreds of thousands of people in our weekly groups to lose weight and, importantly, to keep it off for life. We’re proud to work with the NHS, with Public Health England, with the Royal College of Midwives and others to help shape the future of weight management in the UK.

“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 here in Derbyshire. It’s also a home from home for Consultants when they’re receiving training. We’ve experienced huge growth in the last few years, and our new building will ensure we have the facilities to give our people a great working environment and a bigger, better, state-of-the art training centre.“People have always been at 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 confident that our fabulous new building will ensure that we continue to be at the forefront of weight management now and for many years to come. Extra-special thanks go to Morgan Sindall, whose care and professionalism during this construction has been outstanding. They really have delivered everything we wanted and more.”

Sean Bowles, managing director of the central region of Morgan Sindall construction said: “From the outset of this project we have worked closely with Slimming World to understand its vision and create a space with a ‘wow factor’ for the company’s staff and Consultants.

“The building provides a fantastic end-user experience for those who come to work and attend training here and will enable Slimming World to continue to provide the best service to its members throughout the UK.

Pictured:

Image 1: Margaret Miles-Bramwell OBE outside of Slimming World’s new head office extension, just off Clover Nook Road in Alfreton.

Image 2: Margaret Miles-Bramwell OBE and Morgan Sindall project manager Peter Maguire, cutting the ribbon at Slimming World’s new head office extension, just off Clover Nook Road in Alfreton, Derbyshire.

Image 3: Slimming World's new building

Image 4&5: Margaret Miles-Bramwell OBE opening Slimming World’s new head office extension to Slimming World’s head office staff.

Image 6: Slimming World founder Margaret Miles-Bramwell OBE and company directors cutting the ribbon at Slimming World’s new head office extension.

Images 7-20: captioned.