Gym firm backed by Rishi Sunak’s wife to call in administrators
Administrators are to be called in for the gym chain backed by Rishi Sunak’s wife.
Digme Fitness was hammered by Covid measures, which saw gym goers turn away from the business’s London sites.
Digme Fitness, which was founded by a former City lawyer, has eight gyms, including those dotted around the Square Mile, including near Bank, Moorgate and Blackfriars.
It has now filed a notice of its intention to appoint administrators in a failed bid to reinvent itself with online classes, the Telegraph newspaper first reported. It will be protected from creditors for two weeks now.
The Chancellor’s wife Akshata Murthy holds a 4.2 per cent stake in the brand.
The fitness firm has also recruited lawyers at Shoosmiths, for restructuring advice.
In its last accounts filed to Companies House, the firm said 2020 had “become an extraordinary challenge for us” because of the emergence of the Covid pandemic.
In the statement, Digme Fitness said its team had “shown incredible determination and motivation to weather the storm.”
“Having hunkered down and re-examined the cost base during the crisis, we expect to exit the pandemic stronger as a business, and, as with every crisis, there will be many opportunities for bargain growth opportunities that will arise,” it added.
However, attempts to launch an online offering for remote workers had not been enough to recoup losses from in-person trade.