Gymbox lands a knockout £39m funding package

Gymbox, the cutting-edge gym chain famous for its bold advertising, extraordinary classes and award-winning interiors, has secured a £39m funding package to continue its expansion plans. BGF, an existing Gymbox shareholder, has provided an additional £13m of equity finance whilst HSBC, which has banked the company for over 13 years, is continuing to support the business with a debt package totalling £26m. This latest round of funding brings BGF’s total investment to £25m and is further evidence of its commitment to support the UK’s small and medium sized community following the Brexit referendum.

Gymbox will roll-out further new sites across London within the next 12 months. This includes its largest and most inspiring gym to date, which is under construction in Farringdon. The new 42,000 sq ft gym will feature a three lane running track, an Olympic sized boxing ring and the largest free weights area in the Capital. More than 150 classes will be available every week, including fitness concepts never before seen in the UK such as Circus Fit, a combination of trapeze skills, aerial hoop and acrobatics.

Under the leadership of CEO and founder Richard Hilton, Gymbox has experienced consistent growth since opening its first gym in 2003 and in the last 12 months generated revenues and EBITDA of £16m and £5.5m respectively. The eight London based gyms have in excess of 22,000 members and according to Cool Brands is ‘the must-go destination for fitness-savvy Londoners’.

Following BGF’s initial investment in July 2014, the business has opened sites in Old Street, Westfield Stratford and Victoria and has almost doubled its EBITDA during this period.

Richard Hilton said: “Gymbox continues to revolutionise the fitness industry by ensuring that working out is as much fun as going out. With this funding package and the ongoing support of my management team, BGF and HSBC, there is a lot more we can and want to do.”

Alistair Brew, an Investor at BGF who has been a member of the Gymbox board since 2014 said: “Gymbox continues to go from strength to strength. We are delighted to be supporting the team with further investment as it continues its roll-out.”

The deal was led for BGF by Alistair Brew and Ben Kirby. Alistair and Ben also led the original investment in Gymbox in July 2014. Gymbox was advised by Ali Aneizi of Tamweel Capital, an investor in the business and corporate finance advisor to the company.