Sept 14 Fitness club chain Pure Gym Group Plc said on Wednesday it would raise about 190 million pounds ($251 million) in an initial public offering of shares on the London Stock Exchange.
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The chain has 163 gyms, including 40 within the M25, and more than 780,000 members who pay about £20 a month.
The group plans to raise £190mln to open more gyms and invest in new technology.
But Humphrey Cobbold, chief executive at Pure Gym, said the group is “ready to become a listed company”.
“Technological capability has been and will remain fundamental to our success and going forward offers opportunities to further differentiate the options and services we provide our members”.
Boss Humphrey Cobbold, who was hired previous year to ready the chain for a float, would not be drawn on Sir Chris’s stake, although filings at Companies House show that the Olympian held 2,500 C shares in Gym Topco, the chain’s holding company, at the end of April.
LEEDS gym chain Pure Gym has flexed its muscles with the announcement of a stock market debut.
Sir Chris joined Pure Gym in June past year as a brand ambassador, a role that also saw him become an investor in the business. The company reported in the statement that its revenue had climbed to £76.6 million in the first six months of the year, from £50.8 million a year ago, while the group’s adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation came in at £23.5 million, up from £18.5 million in the prior-year period. “It did not cater for modern gym users who are tech-savvy, want to be able to exercise at any time of day or night and want gyms they actually use, all without being locked into an expensive 12-month contract”.
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Tony Ball, chairman of Pure Gym, said its business model had made gym membership accessible for hundreds of thousands of people.
