united kingdom

Therme Group UK

Therme Group UK is responsible for the strategic planning, development and roll out of Therme Group resorts in the UK. Beginning with Therme Manchester, Therme Group will bring its wellbeing resort concept to cities throughout the UK, transforming urban lifestyles with profound benefits to health and wellbeing.


Therme Group is set to bring facilities throughout the UK representing a major investment in the wellbeing of the British public

In line with the group philosophy that wellbeing should be accessible for all, its 90/90 goal is to bring a Therme proposition to within 90 minutes of travel time of 90% of the British population.

Therme UK will bring a Therme to 90% of the British population within a 90-minute travel time

Increasingly, wellbeing in all its forms is being seen as essential rather than a luxury. As much as providing a fun and healthy day, Therme Group is focused on opportunities to drive sustainable, positive behaviour change in the long term and contribute towards preventative healthcare in the community.

Beginning with Therme Manchester, Therme Group will bring its wellbeing resort concept to cities throughout the UK, transforming urban lifestyles with profound benefits to health and wellbeing. Across the next 12 years, Therme Group UK plans to open a new Therme every two years. This roll-out of Therme facilities will generate significant national impacts including:

Creating £14.5bn in social value between 2023 and 2074

Generating c. £21bn GVA (over construction phases and 50 yrs of operation)

Supporting c.34,000 jobs

c.£4.4bn in savings for the NHS per year

 c. £2bn capital investment

Therme Group facilities’ indoor ecosystems offer fun, relaxing, natural spaces within cities

Every Therme Group facility is carefully tailored to its local context – there is no ‘one size fits all’ for wellbeing. There is only consideration to what will make each project transformational for that community, embracing the culture, heritage and environment of that particular location to enhance urban wellbeing. As such, Therme Group UK works closely with central and local government bodies, investors and local stakeholders to deliver this vision. By involving local partners at every stage of development, Therme Group UK seeks to put the wellbeing of people and planet at the top of the city agenda.

It was amazing to have so many colleagues, friends and stakeholders run the Therme Manchester Marathon as part of Team Therme

Therme Group UK Projects

Therme Manchester

• Development cost £250m+
• Peak visitation 20,000+ per day
• Forecast 1.5m+ guests p.a. on opening
• 28-acre (11 hectare) site

Therme Scotland

• Central Glasgow waterfront site, next to the Riverside Museum
• Development cost c.£100m+
• C.30,000 sqm (323,000 sqft) built area, excl. parking

Meet the Therme Group UK team

Prof. David Russell Chief Executive Officer, Therme Group UK
Chief Executive Officer, Therme Group UK
David was appointed Chief Executive of Therme UK in July 2023 following a successful three-year tenure as Chief Executive of the joint venture between The Russell Partnership Collection and Therme Group. In the Therme UK CEO’s role David will deliver Therme Groups’ mission of ‘wellbeing for all’ – for individuals, communities and the environment. David was honoured with the Welcome Skills Lifetime Achievement Award for his total commitment to the Hospitality and Leisure industry and in 2022 was recognised as a Legend of Industry. David created and built the UK’s largest Food and Technology Consultancy for over 30 years, in over 30 countries. David read Hospitality Management at Leeds, is a Freeman of the City of London, a Professor of Tourism, Hospitality and Leisure and a qualified nutritionist, he is named in the list of most influential individuals within hospitality in the UK, has presented over 500 global keynote addresses and published an excess of 200 articles.
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Michelle Harbour Office of the CEO, Therme Group UK
Office of the CEO, Therme Group UK
Michelle supports the Non-Executive Chairman in leading the company's efforts in developing and implementing strategic plans to satisfy the demands of its internal customers and to develop a supportive work environment for its team.   Michelle holds high-level, contemporary client liaison and coordination capability. She manages the professional team and services, providing strategic business support to the Non-Executive Chairman.
James Mark Chief Strategy Officer, Therme Group UK
Chief Strategy Officer, Therme Group UK
James is responsible for the development of the UK strategy and project pipeline to achieve our 90/90 vision - 90% of British population within a 90 minute travel time of a Therme. James brings over 25 years’ experience working with many of the UK’s flagship venues. As a former Executive Director of ExCeL London, James held P&L responsibility for both commercial and operational divisions, overseeing ExCeL’s participation in the 2012 London Olympic & Paralympic Games. Previous roles include General Manager of the London Olympic Stadium to deliver the 2017 World Athletics Championships and Independent Technical Advisor to the UK Government, Department of International Trade, supporting the 2019 PanAm Games in Lima. James is also a Trustee and current serving Chair for the charity, Reverence for Life UK
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Adrian Ion Chief Finance Officer, Therme Group UK
Chief Finance Officer, Therme Group UK
Adrian Ion is the CFO of Therme Group and VP for Corporate Finance, responsible for managing the group’s financial strategy, its relationship with investors and funding partners and day-to-day financial operations. Prior to joining Therme Group, Adrian held senior roles at Ares Management, where he was the Finance Director of a $4bn European real estate platform, Deutsche Asset Management, where he was the Chief Financial Officer of the European Alternatives Group and Barings, the global investment management firm. Adrian champions the development of a sustainable finance framework dedicated to delivering wellbeing outcomes and the use of ESG metrics, alongside traditional financial KPIs, to measure the impact of business on people and the planet. Adrian is a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales and a member of the Investment Property Forum. 
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Richard Land Chief Development Officer, Therme Group UK
Chief Development Officer, Therme Group UK
Richard has extensive experience in the UK and European construction sector and is responsible for Therme Group UK projects from inception through to development and operation. His strong technical background comes from roles with global engineering consultancies, including Arup and WSP. During his career, he has also worked with large Pan-European asset development funds and founded his own consultancy company.
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Neil Johnson Finance Director, Therme Group UK
Finance Director, Therme Group UK
Neil is a Chartered Accountant with over 40 years' experience of advising a broad range of businesses across the UK on financial and taxation matters. He has specialised in the leisure and hospitality through his career. He has provided a high level of technical skill combined with commercial knowledge in assisting clients to develop catering and hospitality strategies and to inform the key decisions underlying those strategies. He brings strong analytical and communication skills to bear on these key issues to enable the client to make clear and well informed decisions.
James Wall Legal Counsel
Legal Counsel
James Wall is Head of Legal (Global Projects) at Therme Group. He is an experienced and versatile commercial lawyer, team leader and legal project manager, having provided commercial and pragmatic advice and solutions to executive boards of businesses and their in house legal teams for the last two decades. James’ background extends across leisure and hospitality, sports, entertainment, real estate, data protection and governance and he has lead the contract negotiations for a number of significant projects in Manchester and beyond. By fostering and managing relationships both internally and externally at a senior level, James has built value for businesses through leading high performing teams and delivering on key strategies. James supports and advises board executives and business leaders across the global Therme ecosystem on key strategic projects and governance matters, providing commercially driven effective legal solutions. He is also a member of the senior leadership team delivering the Therme Manchester vision. Prior to joining Therme in early 2022, James was a partner at leading Manchester firm Kuits Solicitors, heading up the Commercial team.
Ross Sangster Construction Lead, Therme Group UK
Construction Lead, Therme Group UK
Ross has a proven track record in building high performance teams and collaborative relationships to deliver successful construction projects including experience in health, education, retail, residential and leisure. Ross is an accomplished problem solver, having management experience across all key business functions, backed up by a high level of training, project experience, project management, leadership experience, and technical capability gained from working for some of the largest construction companies in the UK. Ross brings a creative, pragmatic, and logical approach to the team, combined with a passion and dedication, to deliver the highest potential positive outcome. Ross’ career highlights include: Project managing a project which was short listing for the coveted RIBA Stirling Prize also winning RIBA Regional Award, winner of a Civic Award and winner of BALI Award for Landscaping, alongside involvement in some of the largest and iconic construction projects in the country, at time of their constructions: Edinburgh Royal Hospital, Salford Royal Hospital, Exhibition Centre Liverpool, Hounds Hill Shopping Centre Blackpool, Glasgow Caledonian University. Ross won ICE Regional Engineer of the year 2003 and the Considerate Constructor Scheme (CCS) Gold award.
Rob Creber Operations Lead, Therme Group UK
Operations Lead, Therme Group UK
Rob has worked within the events industry for over 25 years and joined Therme Group in 2021 to lead the operational planning and delivery for the new UK resorts. A career focused on the planning, delivery and operation of major events, within roles at organisers, venue operators and suppliers. Highlights include being part of the team that planned and opened ExCeL London, running the first event at the venue and going on to manage their large international exhibition portfolio. The next step was a role within the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics Organising Committee, joining early in the planning phase for the Games. Working in the venue development team, he was responsible for managing teams to plan and deliver a number of sport competition venues.
Anne-Marie Garner VP of Corporate Strategy
VP of Corporate Strategy
Anne-Marie has a long history of legal and governance excellence, having run award-winning legal teams, masterminded global compliance programmes, and complex strategies and interventions in the EDI space. She has been in Therme Group since 2018 and moved from VP of Legal and Corporate Governance to VP of Corporate Strategy in 2020. Anne Marie has a particular interest in social prescribing and defining wellbeing for different communities as well as inclusive design. She is also an Independent Director of Hockey England and a member of the People’s Committee of Scottish Hockey focusing on Equity, Diversity and Inclusion.
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Duncan Newbury VP of Brand Strategy & Marketing Director
VP of Brand Strategy & Marketing Director
Duncan is a marketer and entrepreneur with a background in sports, leisure, entertainment, media and events. In his role at Therme Group he heads up brand, marketing and communications worldwide, working to benefit the wellbeing of customers, stakeholders and communities. His early career was with The Guardian newspaper during the launch of its website, now a major global online force. Through his career he has worked with world-leading consumer and professional events organisers and venues including Telegraph Events, ExCeL London and Chatham House. In 2011 he founded a successful resort-specialist ski holiday company and more recently a digital marketing agency. His personal passions include active and adventure travel, skiing and running.
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