Innovative social enterprise, Greenwich Leisure Limited (GLL), has gone from strength-to-strength since its launch in Greenwich RLBC in 1993, to become the largest public leisure operator in the UK, working in partnership with 27 local authorities and managing more than 115 facilities with 450,000 members and 6,000 staff.

In 1993, Greenwich was faced with the possible closure of several of its leisure centres due to severe funding pressures.

The solution, devised in collaboration with the local authority, was to set up an autonomous, not-for-profit social enterprise to take over running the centres from the borough's own in-house team.

Known as GLL, our new model had charitable status, but still kept the public sector ethos, with private sector business freedoms.

With an initial objective of saving and protecting 110 full-time service jobs, GLL also ensured all seven Greenwich RLBC leisure centres not only remained open, but developed a range of new services and we invested in new facilities.

Today, Greenwich boasts 12 leisure centres, employing more than 250 full-time staff.

GLL has helped attract investment in from external sources, such as lottery and European funding, to provide a secure future against a backdrop of severe cuts to local authority budgets.

Around £35m has been invested in the borough over the past 20 years, including GLL's own investments which range from a £5m refurbishment of the Royal Greenwich Lido, Charlton – part of Greenwich's Olympic legacy to transform Hornfair Park into a multi-sport hub – to the creation of a new performing arts base at The Academy Performing Arts.

GLL also began operating Greenwich's 13 libraries in 2012.  The new library at Woolwich has seen usage up by 25% in the first year and there has been major investment in partnership with the council in the latest IT, flexible learning through ‘Learn Direct' and soon to come will be extended opening hours and additional facilities as GLL integrates libraries and leisure centre services.

Our aim is to give libraries a new lease of life and secure their future at a time when many are under threat of closure across the country – a situation which is faced by
many councils.  You want your library to be open seven days a week, to be accessible, friendly and bright – the same specification as a leisure centre.

GLL's corporate headquarters are still located in Woolwich, once one of the top 10 most deprived wards in the UK and was the first business to put down its roots in the Royal Arsenal regeneration area.

GLL headquarters alone employs 130 full-time staff in a variety of roles from marketing through finance to human resources.

By developing staff and growing the business, we provide better career opportunities for our people.  As a staff-led organisation, we aim to employ the best and provide good training.

GLL owns the London Leisure College, which will deliver internal training to more than 5,000 GLL employees through our Learner Management System as well as provide short vocational training courses for 1,500 candidates outside the organisation who want to gain sports and leisure industry qualifications.

The college employes 20-plus tutors on a course-by-course basis, as well as three full time staff and one part time.

At the Greenwich branch of the college, based at the Eltham Leisure Centre, training is given in partnership with the local community college.

The success of the GLL model continues to provide cost-savings for the Royal Borough of Greenwich.

In 1993, the cost of operating leisure centres in Greenwich was £5m, with 50% funded by the council and 50% from takings at the tills.

After 10 years, the cost to the council was just £1m, with tills providing £6m.

Operating on a not-for-profit basis offers a ‘win-win' relationship for the council and is proof that social enterprise really does work.

By improving outlets and service points, we are also contributing to a healthy, active community.

We provide access to quality community leisure and fitness facilities at a price everyone can afford.

We also run programmes, such as Healthwise, in partnership with the NHS and the borough for residents who are interested in becoming more physically active.

Participants must be referred by a GP or nurse and the scheme offers an individually tailored exercise programme and access to classes across the borough.

A total of 1,575 referred clients were seen by Healthwise in Greenwich in the period 1 April 2012 to 31 March 2013 and evaluation shows significant increase in levels of physical activity and improvements in the quality of life and wellbeing of patients six months after completing the scheme.

As well as getting out and about more in their local community, patients also report they visit their GP surgery less often and have reduced their medications.

We also launched a cross-borough discounted disability membership this year to provide people with practical ways of promoting participation and performance within disability sport.

Our working relationship with Greenwich RLBC has been a partnership from day one and last year we worked together to host numerous national and international teams at our leisure centres for the 2012 Olympic Games.

The London Games had a huge impact and we were awarded legacy contracts to run the Aquatic Centre and Copper Box Arena – a move that will provide more than 250 new jobs and 86 apprenticeships ayear.

This has turned us from being a local player who started out simply trying to save service jobs in Greenwich to a national player, showing that social enterprise can make a serious contribution to Olympic legacy.

Mark Sesnan is the managing director of GLL