The Gym Group, the nationwide operator of 215¹ low cost, high quality, 24/7 no contract gyms, announces its interim results for the six month period ended 30 June 2022.

Key financial metrics²

Financial highlights

• Strong financial recovery with Group Adjusted EBITDA Less Normalised Rent of £17.0m for H1 2022 (H1 2021: loss of £8.1m) up £25.1m vs H1 2021; last 12 months (LTM) Group Adjusted EBITDA Less Normalised Rent of £30.8m at June 2022
• Member numbers building well and in line with seasonal norms; 790,000 members at 30 June 2022, up 10% from December 2021 (Dec 2021: 718,000); like-for-like revenue in June 2022 of 90%³ versus June 2019
• Free cash flow of £6.9m in H1; leverage ratio⁴ reduced to 1.9x at June 2022 (March 2022: 2.2x)
• Yield strengthened while still remaining the lowest priced UK low cost gym operator; average price of a standard DO IT membership in June 2022 was £20.89 (Dec 2021: £19.27); premium LIVE IT penetration was 28.7% (Dec 2021: 27.1%)

Strategic highlights

• Growth strategy for FY25 launched at the Capital Markets Day with key targets of 300+ sites, £95-105m Group Adjusted EBITDA Less Normalised Rent, and £40-50m Profit before Tax
• Site expansion plan on track with seven sites opened in the first half of the year and four opened since period end; will deliver 28 in the year, including the conversion of acquired sites
• Strong operational performance with continuing record member satisfaction scores and high staff engagement
• New technology platform launched in April 2022 already driving higher website traffic and conversion
• Brand transformation in Q3 including rebranding of estate and website, and launch of creative platform

Outlook

• Trading in July continued to be in line with our expectations
• September and October 2022 is next key period of membership growth as students return to in-person education and working patterns continue to normalise
• Site pipeline building well with at least 25-30 openings targeted for 2023 and 2024

Richard Darwin, CEO of The Gym Group, commented:

We are pleased with our financial and operational performance during the first half of 2022, demonstrating the resilience of our business. People across the country rely on our gyms for their physical and mental health, and demand for our affordable, high quality fitness experience is recovering well. As we expand, we welcome more members in communities across the UK, and we are making further progress with our ambitious growth plan, with 28 new gym openings scheduled for 2022. The future is bright for The Gym Group – our new technology platform, combined with our brand relaunch later this month, positions us well to capture the demand for affordable fitness and take advantage of this once in a generation opportunity for growth.

A live audio webcast of the analyst presentation will be available at 9:30 a.m. today via the following link:
https://stream.brrmedia.co.uk/broadcast/62c6a2101c26317a5ff3f236

¹ As at 3 August 2022 - number stated net of one closure; 212 sites as at 30 June 2022 including three acquired Fitness First sites (31 December 2021: 202; 30 June 2021: 190)
² For a summary of KPI definitions used in the table see the ‘Definition of non-statutory measures’ section
³ 151 sites open at December 2018 excluding four London city centre sites
⁴ Leverage ratio is defined as the ratio of Non-Property Net Debt to Group Adjusted EBITDA Less Normalised Rent for the last 12 months

For further information, please contact:

The Gym Group
Richard Darwin, CEO
Ann-marie Murphy, COO
via Tulchan

Numis
Luke Bordewich
George Price 0207 260 1366

Peel Hunt
Dan Webster
George Sellar 0207 418 8900

Tulchan
James Macey-White
Elizabeth Snow 0207 353 4200