Gym bosses warn MPs of closures as industry calls for targeted relief

Gym and leisure bosses have warned MPs that cash reserves are running out and that many operators could fold if Government does not offer more and targeted support to the sector.

Gyms were shuttered under both Tier 4 and new lockdown restrictions.

Bosses of firms including budget fitness giant PureGym gave evidence to a Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) committee on Covid impact on Tuesday morning.

They called for “targeted and proportional” support for the sector - including new legislation to help gyms negotiate the burden of rent arrears with landlords post-rent moratoria ending on March 31, a targeted extension of business rates relief throughout 2021, and VAT relief for the leisure sector akin to that offered to hospitality. 

PureGym is the UK’s largest gym chain, with more than 270 across the UK.

Managing director Rebecca Passmore told the committee that firms are suffering an “economic long Covid”.

She warned that without such measures, “ultimately, over a prolonged period of time, we will see operators go out of business, the public will have fewer places to exercise and look after their physical and mental well-being and those that will survive won’t be able to invest”.

Marg Mayne, chief executive of community leisure centre operator Mytime Active, said it has cost firms around £60,000 per site to “hibernate” each month during the lockdown.

Earlier on Tuesday the boss of international US-based gym franchise Anytime Fitness, which has more than 165 UK sites, told the Today programme gyms are seeing losses of up to £800,000 per site for the past eight months. 

Neil Randall warned that there are a “large proportion” of landlords “who refuse to even enter into any dialogue” with operators, many of whom owe up to £100,000 per site in arrears.