Virgin Active offloads 16 fitness clubs to David Lloyd Leisure
Virgin Active, the eponymous gym chain, has offloaded 16 of its clubs in the UK to David Lloyd Leisure for an undisclosed sum.
The fitness firm will continue to operate 45 clubs in the UK, 33 of which are in London.
Last year, Virgin Active sold a further 35 UK gyms to Nuffield Health, a not-for-profit health and fitness chain.
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The sale will allow it to focus on its metropolitan and commuter hub operations in its key markets, it said in a statement.
The company said that it had spent over £14m last year in improvements to its high-end London clubs and plans to continue its upgrade programme in 2017, including a full refurbishment of its Chelsea club.
Paul Woolf, chief executive officer of Virgin Active, said:
This transaction delivers a compelling valuation and focuses our UK estate in metropolitan and commuter hubs, in line with our operations elsewhere in the world.
We see considerable opportunities to continue our long-term growth record by investing in existing and new market-leading health clubs in all of our territories, including the UK.
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Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Group still owns 20 per cent of the company, which established the gym chain in 1999. Virgin Active runs more than 240 gym locations in 10 countries and has over 1.4m adult members.