Test - NEST Management

The City01 / 12

A banker, before anything else

Gerard Turvey qualified as a banker in London. Ledgers, reconciliation, the discipline of handling other people's money properly — the habits that still sit underneath everything NEST does.

Boots Opticians02 / 12

Executive director of systems and administration

He joined Boots Opticians and rose to run systems and administration — the unglamorous business of making a complicated operation run quietly in the background.

Japan03 / 12

A profound effect

The role took him to Japan. He fell for the culture and, through it, the martial arts — an encounter he still describes as having a profound effect on him.

Back in the UK04 / 12

Five years to a black belt

Home again, Gerard spent five years training for his black belt. Somewhere in those five years on the mats, he started to spot an opportunity nobody else was looking at.

On the mats05 / 12

The paperwork problem

He began coaching classes of his own — and found what every coach finds. Fees, registers, chasing, admin. Hours a week stolen from the only part of the job they actually signed up for.

200006 / 12

NEST is founded in a garage

One desk, one idea: take the admin off coaches so they can coach. NEST Management started in Gerard's garage in 2000.

The patio07 / 12

First clients signed in the garden

No boardroom. The first NEST clients signed up on the garden patio, over a cup of tea, on a handshake and a promise to make Monday mornings easier.

Nottingham08 / 12

A move to Wilford Business Park

The garage ran out of room. NEST moved into Wilford Business Park on Ruddington Lane — where the team is still based today.

Building the team09 / 12

Hiring for the long run

Key strategic hires across IT, Operations, Marketing, Compliance and HR turned a founder's idea into a company clubs could depend on.

202010 / 12

Covid-19, and myMA Members

When the halls closed, we built. The myMA Members system was developed at speed so clubs could keep their students engaged, paying and part of something — without a single class in person.

Beyond martial arts11 / 12

Football, tennis, badminton, dance

The admin headache was never only a martial arts problem. NEST now supports clubs right across sport and movement — with more disciplines joining every year.

Martial artsFootballTennisBadmintonDanceMore soon

Today12 / 12

Still a family business

Twenty-five years on, NEST is still family-run — now processing over £50m a year in revenue on behalf of our clubs, and aiming at £100m by 2030 through better systems, better service and a stubborn belief in club growth.

The City01 / 12