Behind the tinted glass above us, the chicks and jocks are sweating it out on the treadmills in Virgin Active's latest Cape Town health club. It's in Wembley Square, a vast, black metal and red brick development in Gardens where people can live, shop, eat and keep fit.
We're finishing lunch in the high-ceilinged food court, the new trendy place to eat. Pity the restaurant we've chosen, Sinns, doesn't fully measure up to the reputation of chef Thomas Sinn. Though the calamari and prawn salad is sublime, the chicken and mushroom ravioli is on the stodgy side, the dessert fails to arrive, and the waiter actually interrupts us in full flow to ask how the meal is.
As it happens, Mark Field is a clear-eyed, sunny, relaxed 36-year-old, perhaps because as the new MD of Virgin Active SA, he's about to be hosted by Richard Branson on his private island in the Caribbean, along with some of the company's other MDs.
The new job was a seamless transition. "I joined the company as financial director when we took over from Health & Racquet in 2001. Chris Rolfe and I ran it like partners, growing the footprint of the business, until January this year, when he decided he wanted to move on."
It was around the time he joined that 9/11 happened, with devastating effect on the passenger numbers of airlines worldwide, including Branson's Virgin Atlantic Airways. To alleviate cash flow problems, the group sold 54% of its health clubs to a UK company, Bridgeport Capital. Last year it managed to buy them back and is now involved in a refinancing strategy that will provide about £30m for development across the group.
"Though not many of the clubs we took over are still as they were, we need to bring them all in line with our second-generation feel to provide one cohesive identity. And there are geographical areas we need to get into. Our focus is on new developments, while keeping existing products interesting, and concentrating on health and safety."
Freak accidents do happen. But " the group has established safety standards based on EU safety standards. "We have preventive maintenance programmes in place," says Field.
"Hygiene is a massive issue. When last did someone you know get athlete's foot in a Virgin Active club? Change rooms are cleaned up to eight times a day. "
With this year's turnover predicted at around R1,2bn, the company's only local competitor is Planet Fitness, which has 11 clubs. Virgin has 78 and a growing membership - now 500 000 - which has more than doubled since it took over from Health & Racquet.
Field has worked around the world a bit. A qualified CA with a BCom from UCT, he joined the UK commodity trading company that is now the Man Group in 1996 and held various financial positions with it for five years in the UK, Australia and Singapore. For two years he was financial director for its Asia/Pacific region, before deciding his homeland was where he wanted to be.
He's not the sort you'll find in the health club at 5 am every morning, like his predecessor. He runs on the roads of Constantia, where he lives with his long-time girlfriend, plays golf and works out in the club two or three times a week.
"For most people that's all you need. Our clubs are not aimed at tri-athletes. They're for the average guy and girl out there who wants to stay healthy. About 55% of the membership is female. They like the new-generation lifestyle centres - machines that are less intimidating, plus the yoga and dance elements."
Ranking the Analysts 2009
Runs on the roads of Constantia