Energy costs have pushed Active Nation into liquidation, despite the charity reporting the strongest trading period in years.

Annette Reeve of Beesley Corporate Recovery was appointed by the company's creditors on 28 May.

Former CEO, Stuart Martin, has told HCM the cost of energy became completely unmanageable and the support systems that should have helped – including Sport England’s Swimming Pool Support Fund – didn’t deliver.

"It’s heartbreaking, because it wasn’t the quality of our work, our people, or our vision that failed," he says. "It was the environment around us that made it impossible to continue.

“This wasn’t a failing charity, we were caught in a perfect storm of crushing energy costs with no relief, delayed or conditional funding from multiple directions, a recovery system that didn’t work in practice and a national picture where too many leisure providers are being left to sink or swim.

“Participation was booming. Sales were strong. Retention was improving month on month. In normal trading conditions we would have been running at a surplus, but when our long-standing energy contracts came to an end, we were faced with an impossible situation. Gas and electricity prices had skyrocketed and any new agreement meant astronomical costs.”

Some of the bills increased by more than 400 per cent and even after shopping the market and taking expert advice they were a major liability.

An application to the Swimming Pool Support Fund, a national pot designed to help with this problem, was unsuccessful. Despite having sites across five local authority partnerships, Active Nation didn’t receive any money – Sport England said there was too much demand and 'not enough to go around'.

Two applications were successful during the second phase, but they were for funds for capital works, such as the installation of solar panels to reduce energy use in the long term. “That’s important, but when you’re haemorrhaging cash today, telling you savings will come in ten years’ time isn’t just unhelpful, it’s devastating,” says Martin.

The charity looked to local authorities for emergency support, but Martin says the terms made it feel more like a trap than a lifeline: “Funding was offered in small monthly amounts that were impossible to plan against. The support also came with major changes to contracts, often written to allow councils to walk away at any time.”

Martin is concerned for other organisations in the sector: “Unless something changes, unless the funding is fair, the support is fast and the system is actually designed to help, this will happen again,” he told HCM

He has advice for other operators: “Use your data well. Prove your impact clearly and constantly: on health, inclusion and community outcomes. When support is scarce, it's your evidence that makes the case.

“Don’t wait for crisis to build relationships. Engage funders and local authorities now. Show them that the cost of helping you stay open is far lower than the cost of your closure to them, to the public and to the system.

“Plan for volatility. Get expert advice early, especially around energy and contracts. And advocate together, because no one’s coming to save us if we act alone.”

UK Active and Swim England have joined forces to lobby the government for more support, following research which shows the rate of swimming pool closures in the UK is speeding up. Since 2010, 500 pools have been lost and 42 per cent of the closures have happened since 2020.

Of the 10 local authorities with the biggest decline in pool space, 70 per cent have higher than average indices of multiple deprivation, sparking fears of exacerbating already stark health inequalities.

Active Nation's contracts have been taken up by other entities, with some being taken back in-house. Places Leisure is now running Southampton.