Full Year Results 2021 16 March 2022

2021 Full Year Results
Recovering strongly – accelerating the pace of change

The Gym Group, the nationwide operator of 203¹ low cost, high quality, 24/7 no contract gyms, announces its full year results for the year ended 31 December 2021.

FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS

_{For a summary of KPI definitions used in the table see the ‘Definition of Non-Statutory Measures’ section.}

STRONG RECOVERY IN 2021

• Significant increase in membership numbers following re-opening in April, with total members at 31 December 2021 of 718,000, up from 547,000 at the end of February 2021 (Dec 2020: 578,000)
• Strong operational performance with record member satisfaction scores and high staff engagement; ranked in top 25 Glassdoor Best Places to Work in the UK
• Yield strengthened with average price of a standard DO IT membership at £19.27 in December 2021 (Dec 2020: £18.81) and penetration of premium LIVE IT membership at 27.1% (Dec 2020: from 22.5%)
• Cash flow positive in all months when gyms were open; Group Adjusted EBITDA Less Normalised Rent of £5.7m for FY 2021 (FY 2020: loss of £10.2m); £13.8m in H2 when gyms fully open
• Low leverage positions business for accelerated growth; Non-Property Net Debt (including finance leases) at 31 December 2021 of £44.1m (Dec 2020: £47.3m)
• Accelerated rollout underway; 19 sites opened in the year (of which 15 in H2); new sites trading well

ACCELERATING INTO 2022 AND BEYOND

• Encouraging start to 2022 with membership growing 14.9% in the first two months despite impact of Omicron on early January trading; 825,000 members at 28 February 2022 (50% growth since Feb 2021)
• Plan to open 28 sites in 2022 with 20 leases already exchanged; rollout target increased to 25-30 openings for 2023 and 2024
• New technology platform launching in April 2022 to drive website traffic, engagement and conversion
• Strengthened digital fitness offer - 200 classes online for all members at no additional charge
• Brand transformation commencing Spring 2022 to support membership recovery and future growth

Richard Darwin, CEO of The Gym Group, commented:

“The Gym Group has had an encouraging start to the year, building on the momentum of our excellent recovery in 2021. We have now grown our membership by 50% in the 12 months to February 2022. Our rollout programme is accelerating with a further 28 openings planned in 2022, increasing the number of communities that can access our high quality, great value gyms. We are confident that our high margin, low-cost business model and our yield optimisation strategy will help to mitigate the impacts of the current inflationary environment. Our pace of change is accelerating through the launch of a new technology platform and a brand transformation in 2022 as we position our business to take advantage of the many growth opportunities within the low cost gym market.”

A live audio webcast of the analyst presentation will be available at 10:00 a.m. today via the following link:
https://webcasting.brrmedia.co.uk/broadcast/6225e0c2969a0548ac0c33b0

The company announces it will host a capital markets day on 19 May 2022 in London.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:

The Gym Group
Richard Darwin, CEO
Mark George, CFO
via Tulchan

Numis
Luke Bordewich
George Price 0207 260 1366

Peel Hunt
Dan Webster
George Sellar 0207 418 8900

Tulchan
James Macey-White
Elizabeth Snow 0207 353 4200

¹As at 16 March 2022; 202 sites as at 31 December 2021 (31 December 2020: 183); one additional site opened in January 2022.

Download the full announcement