J D Wetherspoon plc is a pub company operating in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The company was founded in 1979 by Tim Martin and is based in Watford. It operates the sub-brand of Lloyds No.1 bars, and 56 Wetherspoon hotels. Wetherspoon is known for converting unconventional premises, such as former cinemas and banks, into pubs. The company is publicly listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.
Gold's Gym International, Inc. is an American chain of international co-ed fitness centers originally started by Joe Gold in Venice Beach, California. Each gym offers a variety of cardio and strength training equipment as well as group exercise programs. Gold's Gym's headquarters have relocated to Dallas.
Dunnes Stores is an Irish multinational retail chain that primarily sells food, clothes and household wares. It was founded by Ben Dunne in 1944. In addition to its main customer base in Ireland, the chain also has operations in Spain, and formerly in England and Scotland. The format of most of the chain's stores in Ireland involves a grocery supermarket operating alongside a clothing/textiles store, although some stores contain only textiles and some contain only a supermarket. The grocery side of the business does not operate outside of Ireland, save for a limited grocery range in the Spanish stores. The larger stores usually contain a café branded as either Café Sol, Dunnes Stores Café or Baxter & Greene Market Café.
B&Q is a British multinational DIY and home improvement retailing company, with headquarters in Eastleigh, England. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Kingfisher plc. It was founded in March 1969 by Richard Block and David Quayle.
Ben Dunne was an Irish businessman. Director of his family firm, Dunnes Stores, one of the largest chains of department stores in Ireland, he then owned a chain of fitness centres called Ben Dunne Gyms.
Thomas Griffin Dunne is an American actor, film producer, and film director. Dunne studied acting at The Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre in New York City. He is known for portraying Jack Goodman in An American Werewolf in London (1981) and Paul Hackett in After Hours (1985), for which he was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy.
Richard Patrick Dunne is an Irish former professional footballer and current television pundit for TNT Sports, who played as a centre-back. He made 431 Premier League appearances, including 253 for Manchester City.
Virgin Active is a chain of health clubs in South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Italy, Australia, Singapore, Thailand and the United Kingdom.
In the Republic of Ireland, the retail sector provides one of the largest sources of employment in the economy, representing over 12% of the workforce. As of 2017, approximately 40,000 wholesale and retail businesses employed almost 280,000 people in Ireland, with the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment reporting that 90% of these businesses were Irish-owned.
Fitness First is an international fitness centre brand founded in 1993 in the United Kingdom. The company owned and operated its clubs around the world until financial pressures saw parts of the company sold off to various owners in different regions.
Darrers Stores was a department store and supermarket brand with outlets in Waterford, Dungarvan, Tramore and Carlow, in Ireland. The chain operated as both a grocers and drapers, and is believed to be one of the first Irish stores to introduce a free plastic shopping bag.
Planet Fitness is an American franchisor and operator of fitness centers based in Hampton, New Hampshire. The company reports that it has around 2,400 clubs, making it one of the largest fitness club franchises by number of members and locations. The franchise has locations in the United States, Canada, Dominican Republic, Panama, Mexico, and Australia. It markets itself as a "Judgement Free Zone" that caters to novice and casual gym users, and has faced both praise and criticism for its atmosphere.
Joseph John Dunne is an Irish football manager and former footballer who is currently assistant manager of Newport County.
Crunch Fitness is a U.S.-based brand of over 400 franchised and corporate owned fitness clubs located in the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada, Spain, Portugal, Costa Rica, and Australia. Founded by Doug Levine in 1989, its current Worldwide CEO is Jim Rowley.
Anytime Fitness is an American franchise of health and fitness clubs that is based in Woodbury, Minnesota, United States. The company operates above 5,000 franchised locations in 50 countries. The gym facilities are open 24 hours a day, 365 days of the year.In 2014, Anytime Fitness was ranked "the fastest growing health club franchise'' In 2015, Entrepreneur Magazine ranked Anytime Fitness first on its global franchise list. Anytime Fitness is a subsidiary of Self Esteem Brands, LLC.
Charles Dunne is a professional footballer who plays as a defender for St Mirren. He has previously played for Wycombe Wanderers, Staines Town, Blackpool, Crawley Town, Oldham Athletic and Motherwell.
PureGym Limited is a British chain of no frills health clubs based in the United Kingdom with multiple gyms around the world. The chain is headquartered in Leeds, West Yorkshire, with additional offices in London and Southampton.
Louis Anthony Dunne is an Irish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder, for National League South club Chelmsford City.
Margaret Heffernan is an Irish businesswoman. Having left school at 14 to join what became one of Ireland's largest retailers, Dunnes Stores, she became one of its two main shareholders in the early 1990s, and later its CEO.
