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The Gym Group – Next Chapter growth plan delivering; momentum building: The Gym Group has said that its Next Chapter growth plan is delivering after it reported strong revenue growth for 2024, up 11% to £226.3m, with average members up 4% and average revenue per member per month up 7%. As at 31 December 2024, the company operated 245 sites across the UK with 891,000 members nationwide. The company said that trading momentum remained strong in its peak recruitment months of January and February; revenue after two months has grown by 8% year on year, reflecting a 4% increase in average members and 4% growth in yield. Like-for-like revenue was up 3%. It said the plan to open 14-16 new sites in 2025, in line with its plan to open circa 50 sites over three years funded from free cash flow. It said that its Next Chapter growth plan was driving up returns across its mature gym estate, through higher yield, more cost-effective promotion, better targeted customer acquisition and early progress on retention. It said that high levels of member engagement and satisfaction has been sustained, with 93% of members rating The Gym Group four or five out of five for overall satisfaction (57% 5/5), while the proportion of members visiting four-plus times a month increased by 120bps. The business opened 12 new sites in 2024, at the top end of its guidance. The company said: “Our focused approach to openings has resulted in all new sites performing ahead of historical maturity curves.” It said it continued investment in member propositions with capital spend in over 100 sites and significant enhancements in 15. HYROX training sessions were rolled out to 120 gyms to become the UK’s largest HYROX training club. Will Orr, chief executive of The Gym Group, said: “This strong set of results reflects good progress against the strategic objectives set out in our Next Chapter growth plan. We have seen excellent momentum to date with increased membership, revenue and profit; and our market-leading proposition is more resonant than ever, in a sector that is growing. We will continue to execute on initiatives started in FY24 alongside new initiatives in place for FY25, underpinned by our investment in technology and data to drive future growth. As a result, we believe there is still more benefit to come from the Next Chapter growth plan, giving us the confidence to increase guidance again to the top end of the recently revised analyst forecast range for FY25. We also remain on track to deliver our target of opening circa 50 new high-quality gyms over three years, funded from free cash flow.”

Premium Club subscribers to receive two updated databases this week: Premium Club subscribers will receive two updated databases this week. The latest Propel UK Food & Beverage Franchisor Database will be sent today (Wednesday, 12 March), at 12pm. The database will feature 11 new additions plus updates to existing entries, while one which is no longer trading has been removed. The database now has 340 entries and more than 189,000 words of copy. Among the new entries are PizzaExpress, Scottish better burger brand Big Licks, and cricket-based competitive socialising concept Sixes Social Cricket. Premium Club subscribers will then receive the next Turnover & Profits Blue Book on Friday (14 March), at 12pm. The database will feature 54 updated accounts and 29 new companies, taking the total to 1,092. A total of 684 companies are making a profit while 408 are making a loss. The Blue Book is updated each month and ranks companies by turnover, profit and profit conversion, listing directors’ earnings for the past five years. Premium Club subscribers also receive access to four other databases: the Multi-Site Database, the New Openings Database, the UK Food and Beverage Franchisee Database and the Who’s Who of UK Hospitality. All Premium Club subscribers will be offered a 20% discount on tickets to Propel paid-for events including Excellence in Pub Retail (May 2025) and discounts on specialist sector reports such as the International Brands report. Operators that are Premium Club subscribers are also able to send up to four members of staff to each of our four Multi-Club Conferences for free. Premium Club subscribers receive their daily Propel Info newsletter 11 hours earlier than standard subscribers, at 7pm the evening before. They also receive videos of presentations at eight Propel conference events two weeks after they are held. This represents around 100 videos of industry insight over the course of the year. Premium Club subscribers will be sent a dedicated monthly newsletter that will highlight key updates in the sector and direct subscribers to all the vital content their membership offers. Premium Club subscribers also receive exclusive opinion columns every Friday at 5pm, which include the thoughts of Propel group editor Mark Wingett and a host of industry leaders from across the sector. A Premium Club subscription costs an annual sum of £495 plus VAT for operators and £595 plus VAT for suppliers. Companies can now have an unlimited number of people receive access to Premium Club for a year for £995 plus VAT – whether they are an operator or supplier. Email kai.kirkman@propelinfo.com today to sign up.

Cake Box to acquire Ambala Foods: Cake Box, the specialist retailer of fresh cream cakes, has announced it has agreed to acquire Ambala Foods – a leading manufacturer and retailer of Asian sweets – for an aggregate consideration of £22m. The deal price consists of £16m for Ambala and £6m for Ambala’s manufacturing facility located in Welwyn Garden City. In order to part-finance the acquisition, the company proposes a placing of 3,888,889 new Ordinary Shares at an issue Price of 180 pence per share to raise gross proceeds (before expenses) of £7m. The balance of the consideration will be funded through a new £15.2m term loan facility and the company’s existing cash resources. The company is also undertaking a Retail Offer to existing retail shareholders in the UK to raise up to £200,000. Ambala currently operates 22 stores, with 19 owned stores and three franchised stores and has been family-run since inception. The Cake Box board believes that the acquisition provides “a number of compelling synergies (sales and cost) and strategic growth opportunities”. On current trading, Cake Box said it has continued to see improvement in sales year-on-year since its interim results to 30 September 2024 and enjoyed record sales during the festive period. The company is on track to open more than 25 stores by the year end and is confident that it will meet market expectations for the year ending 31 March 2025. Sukh Chamdal, chief executive of Cake Box, said: “We are pleased to announce the acquisition of Ambala Foods Ltd, a leading manufacturer and retailer of Asian confectionery in the UK since 1964. This strategic acquisition represents a significant opportunity to leverage the strengths of both brands to expand our market presence and accelerate our growth. Ambala’s rich heritage and established customer base complement Cake Box’s values and commitment to quality and innovation. By adding Cake Box’s expertise and resources to Ambala, we aim to create a unique blend of traditional and contemporary delicacies that appeal to a diverse audience, ultimately driving growth and profitability. We are confident that this acquisition will resonate with Cake Box’s existing customer base and to its commitment to quality products and customer service.”

Britain loses appetite for Chinese restaurants: Britain is falling out of love with Chinese restaurants, according to government data. The Telegraph writes that while the average person ate 15g a week of Chinese food outside the home in 2007, by 2023 that had halved to 7g. Experts fear it could fall further because second-generation Chinese immigrants do not want to run restaurants and takeaways as their parents did. High rents, employee costs and changing tastes add to the problem, according to Gordon Chong of the British Chinese Society. Figures show that Chinese meals have always been popular in the UK – until recently. The amount of Chinese food eaten outside the home peaked at 15g in 2007 and 2008, according to data from Defra, collected by Statista. But from 2011 to 2014, it dropped to 12g, and had fallen to 10g by 2017/18. In 2019/20, as restaurants closed during the covid pandemic, it fell to 2g. In 2021/22, it stalled at 7g and remained there the following year, fuelling fears that many Chinese restaurants that closed during the pandemic had not reopened. Chong called running a restaurant “back breaking” adding that second-generation immigrants are “getting into professional work”. Canton-style food is “truly dying in the UK”, he said. He said: “The decline is also a systemic general decline of the high street and something the government should try to help with – rent, rates, employee costs.” The first recorded Chinese restaurant in the UK was the Chinese Restaurant in Glasshouse Street, off Piccadilly Circus, which opened in 1908. Chinese food remains Britain’s favourite takeaway, with 26% of those polled last year citing it as their top choice.