The Gym Group retained a high number of customers since the turn of the year
The Gym Group (LON:GYM) announced on Thursday that it was in a position recover from a tough year as the organisation suffered a heavy loss during 2020.
The company recorded a before tax loss of £46.52m, a swing from a £14m profit during 2019.
The Gym Group‘s revenue fell by 47.4% from 2019 to £80.47m.
As a result of the pandemic unfolding during 2020, the firm had to shut down its centres for 45% of trading days in the year.
The Gym Group did retain a a high proportion of its members during the recent lockdown, with levels at 547,000 at the end of February 2021, compared to 578,000 at the beginning of the year.
Gyms are expected to re-open for individual exercise on 12 April, as a part of the government’s roadmap out of the current lockdown.
97% of the current members anticipate returning to the gym as soon as it re-opens, while 75% have said their fitness has become more of a priority since the pandemic began.
The company will open three new centres in April and one in May, with an additional four starting on-site imminently.
Richard Darwin, chief executive of the Gym Group, commented on his company’s resilience and the planned rebuild as lockdown measures ease.
“During 2020 we demonstrated the resilience of our business and its culture even in the most challenging of times,” Darwin said.
“By freezing subscriptions when closed and by providing an excellent COVID-secure environment in our gyms when open, we have retained most of our members; by supporting colleagues with topped-up furlough pay, honest communications and a comprehensive wellbeing plan we have high levels of staff retention and engagement; and by managing cash carefully we will emerge from the crisis with manageable levels of debt.”
“We are ready to start rebuilding our memberships levels and growing our estate from 12 April, extending affordable fitness at a time when health and fitness has never been more important.”