Four West Midlands gyms sold out of administration

Four gyms in Brieley Hill, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Rugby and Stoke have been sold out of administration after their parent company was snapped up by JD Gyms.

Wright Leisure Topco called in administrators from PwC on 22 July after its Xercise4Less brand, which had 51 gyms across the UK, including a venue on Ilkeston Road in Nottingham, had suffered from the Covid-19 shut down.

JD Gyms has bought the four Midlands facilities, and 47 others – with only the Wakefield branch of the chain closing.

All existing employees have transferred across to the new business and there will be no interruption to existing customer memberships.

Alun Peacock, managing director of JD Sports Gyms, said: “We are delighted to have completed this acquisition which enhances our position in the highly competitive gym market and which will ensure the continued employment of many hundreds of people. We look forward to re-opening the gyms and welcoming our new colleagues and members, over the coming weeks.”

Toby Underwood, joint administrator and PwC partner, said: “The businesses had been facing financial difficulties caused by an increasingly competitive market, which was exacerbated by Covid-19. Following our appointment, we immediately completed a sales process that had been running for some time.

“This sale puts the ongoing business on a firmer financial footing and JDG will be working with the existing team to continue to grow and develop the new business.

“We are delighted that, in these extremely challenging circumstances, all employees have transferred to the purchaser.”