By 
The Gym Group PLC (LON:GYM) has said its monthly cash burn during the current coronavirus (COVID-19) lockdown is £5mln thanks to government support, while the November closures cost £6mln.
In the year to December 31, 2020, Gym Group said its total revenue was £80mln, down from £153mln recorded in 2019, after the company lost 45% of the year’s trading days to COVID-19 restrictions.
READ: The Gym Group expects £6mln cash burn from closures
Year-end non-property net debt was £47mln, while the firm was cash flow positive during post-lockdown trading periods with £3.8mln of deferred rents outstanding at the end of 2020.
The gym operator said it has “significant” liquidity available under an existing £100mln bank facility, and it has started discussions with its lending banks to review the related future covenant tests.
Under Tier 1-3 restrictions the company had all its gyms open, then it was required to close 162 of its 183 sites when Tier 4 restrictions were introduced in December, then shuttered the whole estate on January 4 2021 when the UK Government announced a nationwide lockdown.
Total year-end membership was 578,000, down from 794,000 in December 2019, with all membership subscriptions frozen during the national lockdown so that members do not pay whilst the gym is closed.
The group continues to plan its expansion and said it will determine the timing of the rollout programme once there is greater visibility.
“While current year forecasts have yet to reflect the latest national lockdown, we believe the upside from site expansion and market share opportunities,” analysts at Liberum said.
“We expect consumers to prioritise health and for budget operators to take significant market share away from traditional and authority gyms, Virtual class will likely accelerate this shift to budget, in our view.”
Shares were flat at 217.5p on Friday at the opening bell.
–Adds analyst comment, shares–
Comments