Virgin Active pumped up with £70m for debts fight

VIRGIN ACTIVE has tapped its shareholders for £70 million in funding in a bid to keep its finances in check as the gyms giant battles to attract customers to pay its premium membership fees amid cost-of-living pressures.

- Simon Hunt

The Richard Branson-backed business, which has over 20 gyms in London and charges between £99 and £310 for a monthly membership, said shareholders had agreed to provide £45 million in cash to support the firm’s European and Asia Pacific operations with the promise of a further £25 million for liquidity and investment purposes.

The firm’s UK operations this week posted a £36 million loss for 2022 in a sign it had struggled to retain pre-pandemic membership numbers after Covid-related closures in 2020 and 2021.

A Virgin Active spokesperson said the loss was driven by “an amendment to the company’s post pandemic recovery timetable reflecting the impact of the cost of living crisis on consumers and inflationary pressures on utility costs.”