Pure, the Hong Kong gym chain frequented by the city’s financial elite, has secured commitments for new funding to help it pay down debt, according to people familiar with the matter.
The gym operator, which tends to lease large spaces in premium locations in the city, is set to receive more than $50 million from investors including Primavera Capital and some existing shareholders, such as FountainVest Partners, as soon as paperwork is completed, the people said.
The new funds, in the form of an equity investment, will be used to help repay a three-year private loan it got from Primavera in 2023, among other things, slashing Pure’s outstanding debt by three quarters, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the matter is private.
Large Hong Kong health club chains in recent years have struggled with high rental costs and competition from smaller rivals. Another gym chain, Physical, shut down last year and one of its units was ordered to liquidate in February.
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Pure, which has carved out a niche among Hong Kong’s affluent, has also been pursuing a slew of other measures to help bolster its liquidity amid a sluggish economy.
The company is in talks with landlords to reduce rents at its facilities, the people said.
A Pure representative declined to comment. Primavera and FountainVest didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Founded in 2002 as a yoga studio in Hong Kong, Pure now has 38 facilities globally. FountainVest jointly invested in Pure in 2017 with Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan.
Last year, Champion REIT sued Pure Fitness for missed rental payments and management fees of HK$12.7 million excluding interest, but the dispute was later resolved.
Pure’s co-founder, Colin Grant, told Bloomberg earlier that the gym had been signing up about 35 percent more members each month from around September until June.