The UK arm of an upmarket US gyms chain, which has faced a backlash over links to Donald Trump, has swung into the red.
Accounts just filed show Equinox Fitness made a £6.1 million pre-tax loss in Britain in 2018, compared with a £242,000 profit a year earlier.
This was mainly due to investment costs to prepare for London openings: Bishopsgate this winter and Shoreditch in 2020. It is also understood the company is eyeing further expansion in the capital. Its current London branches are in Kensington and St James’s.
It boosted sales 28% to £11.9 million here, with members tempted by a large range of classes. The most popular classes of 2018 were called ‘whipped’ and ‘ropes & rowers’.
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US-based parent Equinox is backed by real-estate firm Related Companies, which is majority owned by investor Stephen Ross.
Ross this summer held a fundraiser for president Trump, which led some members in America to call for a boycott of the gym chain.