A recovery in memberships post Covid has helped Leeds-based chain PureGym boost revenue and profits.
The national operator saw revenue jump 17% to £272m in the first half of 2023, with a 43% hike in operating profit to £40m. CEO Humphrey Cobbold said the cost of living crisis had put pressure on the business and customers’ disposable income, but despite the difficult conditions memberships growth in the UK had performed ahead of plan.
In the six months to the end of June, the fitness chain expanded at a rate of one site per week including 20 new gyms in the UK, two in Switzerland and seven under franchise in the Middle East. The firm said it is now gearing up for the refinancing of bonds ahead of their maturities in early 2025.
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Mr Cobbold said that despite likely higher interest rates at the time of refinancing, the firm was well placed with the backing of investors.
He said: “I am delighted with our performance across the business in the first half of the year. Whilst we had hoped that operating conditions following the pandemic would be easier, the reality is that the business environment has remained very difficult on multiple dimensions. Inflation, and rising energy prices in particular, put significant pressure on our cost base whilst also hitting consumers’ disposable incomes, triggering the cost of living crisis.
“So, once again we have had to rise to the challenges in front of us and prove our capability to adjust and adapt to the situations we faced. The work all my colleagues have done to minimise the impact of cost inflation whilst continuing to serve our members and move the business forward is really impressive.
“Demand for our low cost, flexible gym memberships remains strong and I am particularly pleased with the join up rates at our new sites – we have opened 92 corporate-owned sites since the end of the last Covid lockdown period in April 2021. I believe the pattern of robust demand in new sites confirms the underlying strength of the proposition and the growing importance of health and wellbeing to consumers.
“Paraphrasing the old saying, our carefully calibrated site selection process and proposition proves that ‘if we build it – they will come’.”
Original artice – https://business-live.co.uk/all-about/yorkshire-humber
