'It feels we are being completely ignored and it's heart-breaking.'
Takings are down almost 60% across the business compared with pre-pandemic levels. And at one Barry's UK studio in east London, fewer than 100 people visit per day, compared to 500 pre-pandemic.
It also believes gyms, leisure centres and fitness firms should have been offered the targeted grants being provided to struggling hospitality firms. Even if fitness businesses had been included in the chancellor's £6,000 grant funding, Mr Macaskill said this would have been "measly", totalling less than a day's worth of revenue at one of the Barry's UK studios.
He also has concerns about what further restrictions in January might mean, particularly after last year's lockdown.Pre-pandemic the gym had 147 members, which fell to 80 after the third lockdown, but despite a steady recovery since then, it only has 105 now. Mr Proctor said that losing sales in January would put the business's recovery back by up to 12 months. He's already had to put new site acquisitions on hold while the company focuses on survival.Fitness sector group the Chartered Institute for the Management of Sport and Physical Activity urged the Chancellor to "rapidly rethink" the current funding and provide a "bespoke package of support".
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