Keeping Virgin Active Fit for Business

Background

Following a rapid expansion of its UK business (including several acquisitions), Virgin Active had inherited a number of legacy software solutions (including 3 separate membership systems), which limited its ability to leverage important client data across its UK business and put pressure on its back of house management information systems and teams. Virgin Active wanted to transition to a new single membership system throughout the UK, and once operationally tested also wanted the ability (but not the obligation) to roll that system out across its international portfolio.

Phil & Phil gave us excellent, pragmatic advice throughout an involved process. The practical and technical considerations that needed to be covered in the agreement took some teasing out, and having experienced and knowledgeable IT lawyers was invaluable in getting us to the end goal of a legal agreement that reflected the system and our expectations of and plans for it.

James Archibald, Virgin Active
www.virginactive.co.uk

Complications

Because of the multiple legacy membership systems in the UK, and the international nature of Virgin Active’s business, Virgin Active wanted to adopt a phased approach and to deploy the system in different places at different times, something which is not easily catered for in standard SaaS contracts.

How we delivered value

Our prior experience of IT projects meant we were able to produce an agreement which accurately reflected the way in which the solution would be implemented and used in practice. In order to understand the challenges faced by Virgin Active’s business, we worked closely with both the in-house legal and IT teams at Virgin Active throughout the entire process.

Solutions

In any negotiated arrangement, it’s difficult to achieve a successful result without a proper understanding of the real-world issues involved. By working with Virgin Active’s business teams throughout, we were able to understand the real risks, identify areas where concessions could be offered and most importantly prioritise areas of fundamental importance to our client.