About Us

Founded in 1980, Powerhouse Fitness has 13 stores nationwide and a dedicated customer call centre, making it the longest established fitness equipment supplier in the UK. Powerhouse Fitness is the trading name of Laidir Leisure Ltd (Private Limited Company Reg No. SC71827) founded in 1980 by David P. Webster OBE. The word "Laidir" is Scottish Gaelic for "Strength", which is very fitting for David, as the Scottish Highland Games, strength training and weightlifting continue to be his greatest passion. David is a world renowned historian on weightlifting, strength sports and highland games and has been involved in the industry since the 1940's. He is author of over 40 books, still holds world records in strand pulling and received the OBE for services to sport from Her Majesty the Queen at a ceremony in Buckingham Palace in 1995. David set up the business in 1980 as a ‘not for profit organisation', buying in weights and strength equipment which he passed on to the SAWLA (Scottish Amateur Weightlifting Association), of which he was president at the time. David went on to become President of the Commonwealth Games Committee for Scotland, was Chief of Mission and the 1998 Malaysian Commonwealth Games and was made a Life Vice President of the committee.

Having been surrounded by sport and fitness from childhood, David's sons have had an interest in the fitness industry from an early age. In 1983 David's son Nigel joined the business and in 1986 David junior joined him. In 1986 the company adopted the trading name ‘Powerhouse Fitness'. In 1987, Powerhouse Fitness launched their first fitness store in Glasgow. In the early years, the company focused on commercial fitness products for sports clubs and gyms, as well as building up a retail base in Glasgow. By 1997, the company had outgrown their premises and opened a second Glasgow store. From there, Powerhouse Fitness has gone from strength to strength, and is now the only UK fitness retailer to operate as such a large nationwide scale.

Our Services

Powerhouse supplies fitness equipment into a huge variety of commercial environments. Clients include health clubs, local authorities, leisure centres, corporate gyms, sports clubs, hotels, emergency services, military and offshore installations. Projects range from the supply of individual machines to large design, build and marketing projects, such as the £425,000 conversion of a local authority leisure centre into an 80 station hi-tech fitness suite with a 10 week sales campaign securing over 750 members. An experienced team of advisers will help you from the earliest stages of pre-planning and are dedicated to finding solutions for every possible gym requirement. Powerhouse Fitness offer an extensive range of finance options, client support systems, membership sales packages, audio video equipment and building/decoration works.