EXPANDING health club chain Bannatyne Fitness has been named as the UK's second fastest growing privately-owned company in a research.

The 2003 Vantis Hot 100 ranks the Darlington-based business as runner-up to Welsh retailer Sofas UK for sales-turnover over the past four years.

Bannatyne Fitness, owned by Darlington entrepreneur Duncan Bannatyne, achieved a £14.4m increase.

Already the UK's largest independent health club operator, it is growing from 25 to 40 clubs by the end of next year.

Construction is under way at Stepps, near Glasgow and there are £5m centres planned at Chester-le-Street Riverside, Wakefield, in West Yorkshire, and Eastbourne, in Sussex, with another three expected to open next January. Each club creates about 30 jobs.

But Mr Bannatyne is happy that his first new development will be closer to home.

He announced last week that he is keeping his headquarters in Darlington instead of moving to Durham as had been feared following his withdrawal from the edge-of-town Morton Palms development.

Under a new deal his head office will be housed in a former regional electricity board building in Haughton Road, next to one of his clubs. Work is due to start in the summer.

Mr Bannatyne is also the region's highest entry in a list of Britain's top 500 earners, ranking at 32 in the Sunday Times Pay List 2002 with £22m.

The Vantis Hot 100 placed Whitley Bay retailers Linebush II at number six while Blaydon welding engineers Miller UK came 49th.