PureGym is sprinting ahead and has managed to recruit 190,000 new members in the past six months
PureGym is sprinting ahead and has managed to recruit 190,000 new members in the past six months
- PureGym reported first half revenue up 17% year-on-year to £272 million
- It launched 29 new locations in that period, the majority of which opened in Britain
- Last year, the company announced mid-term plans to expand to more than 1,000 locations
PureGym delivered a robust half-year result thanks to rising membership as health-conscious Brits tried to get fitter on a budget.
The Leeds-based company, Britain’s largest gym chain, reported revenue growth of 17 percent year-on-year to £272 million for the six months ending June.
Over the period, the group added an additional 190,000 members, bringing the total member base of its corporate locations to 1.86 million.
Customers: PureGym added an additional 190,000 members over the half year, bringing the total member base of its corporate locations to 1.86 million
Of its newly opened locations in the UK, PureGym noted that membership numbers outperformed expectations, even under current cost-of-living pressures.
Between January and June, it launched 29 new locations, the majority of which opened in Britain, two in Switzerland and seven under franchise in the Middle East, including the first outlet in the United Arab Emirates.
The combination of new locations and rising membership numbers helped the company’s operating profit increase by 43 per cent to £40 million.
Profits further benefited from controlling cost increases by limiting electricity consumption and covering about 90 percent of energy bills.
Humphrey Cobbold, CEO of PureGym, admitted: “While we had hoped business conditions would be easier post-pandemic, the reality is that the business environment has remained very difficult on multiple dimensions.
“Inflation, and in particular rising energy prices, is putting significant pressure on our cost base while also impacting consumers’ disposable incomes, triggering the cost-of-living crisis.
“So we had to once again face the challenges ahead and prove our ability to adapt and adapt to the situations we faced.”
Cobbold went on to say that the company has seen robust trading since July, opening seven additional company-owned outlets.
After lockdown measures were eased significantly in 2021, PureGym began to experience a massive recovery in demand, eventually pushing its overall customer base well above pre-pandemic volumes.
Last year, the company announced plans to more than double in size to more than 1,000 clubs in the medium term, with the UK expected to have between 700 and 900 locations by 2028.
Funding for the expansion will come from the £300 million investment from private equity group KKR. Following the deal, it became PureGym’s second largest shareholder after Leonard Green & Partners.