PureGym is going full speed ahead, attracting 190,000 new members in the last six months
- PureGym reported first half turnover up 17% year-on-year to £272m
- It launched 29 new sites during the period, most of them in Britain.
- Last year, the firm announced medium-term plans to expand to more than 1,000 sites.
PureGym has posted a strong half-year performance thanks to rising membership levels as health-conscious Brits look to get fit on a budget.
The Leeds-based company, Britain’s largest gym chain, reported its turnover rose 17 percent year-on-year to £272 million for the six months to June.
The group added another 190,000 members during the period, bringing the total member base across all of its corporate-owned locations to 1.86 million.
Customers: PureGym added another 190,000 members during the semester, bringing the total member base at its corporate locations to 1.86 million.
Among its recently opened UK locations, PureGym noted that membership levels were performing above plan, even with current cost of living pressures.
It launched 29 new sites between January and June, most of them in Britain, two in Switzerland and seven under franchise in the Middle East, including its first outlet in the United Arab Emirates.
The combination of new locations and rising membership numbers helped drive the company’s operating profit up 43 per cent to £40m.
Profits further benefited by keeping cost increases in check by limiting electricity use and covering approximately 90 percent of their energy bills.
Humphrey Cobbold, CEO of PureGym, admitted: “Although we had hoped that post-pandemic operating conditions would be easier, the reality is that the business environment remains very challenging on multiple dimensions.
‘Inflation, and rising energy prices in particular, are putting significant pressure on our cost base, while also affecting consumers’ disposable income, triggering the cost of living crisis.
“So once again we have had to rise to the challenges ahead and demonstrate our ability to adjust and adapt to the situations we face.”
Cobbold further said the company has seen strong business since July, with seven additional corporate outlets opening.
After lockdown restrictions began to be eased significantly in 2021, PureGym began to experience a tremendous recovery in demand, eventually seeing its total customer base far exceed pre-pandemic volumes.
Last year the company announced plans to double its size to more than 1,000 clubs in the medium term, with the UK expected to have between 700 and 900 sites by 2028.
Funding for the expansion will come from a £300m investment from private equity group KKR. It will become the second largest shareholder in PureGym following the deal, after Leonard Green & Partners.
