A MOTHER and daughter have teamed up to launch a new female-only fitness studio in Witney.

Sharon Buckingham, 40 and 21-year-old Nicole Smith, both from Witney, run Body Evo in the town’s Business and Innovation Centre.

The 800sqft gym includes 14 resistance-training stations.

Ms Buckingham, who plans to begin studying for a degree in sports therapy next month, has had enquiries from more than 60 women since launching three weeks ago.

She said: “We use hydraulic machines which are particularly good for those who haven’t exercised for a long time, or who are overweight.

“Judging from the volume of enquiries and trials we’ve received in such a short space of time, there is a clear market demand for a women-only studio in Witney. I wouldn’t have been able to start-up my business if it wasn’t for the business centre, as the commercial property rates were far too high.”

Witney BIC, owned by Blenheim Palace and managed by Oxford Innovation, includes office space for 31 businesses.

Centre manager Stephanie Henwood said occupancy had doubled in the past two months with the arrival of eight new businesses and is now four-fifths full. She said: “I’m ecstatic to have doubled occupancy in such a short space of time, since the completion of 12 new offices.”

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