The economic fallout from Britain’s historic vote to leave the European Union isn’t causing any sleepless nights for The Gym Group, according to the company’s CEO.

John Treharne believes the gym chain he founded in 2008 is well-placed to weather any resultant financial storms, pointing to the company’s rapid rise during the last global recession as evidence of its durability.

“Fundamentally, there’s no reason why Brexit should impact on our business – we don’t trade with Europe and we don’t trade in euros. Yes we buy some products from Europe, but that’s not really a problem,” Treharne told Health Club Management.

“People ask ‘what happens if the economic climate deteriorates?’ There’s no guarantee that it will happen, but if it did, low cost businesses have demonstrated their ability to trade strongly, both in strong and weak economic climates. It certainly doesn’t keep us awake at night.”

Treharne said his gyms do employ a fair share of workers from the European Union, but believes the UK’s wide pool of young physical activity sector talent means any changes to employment regulations would not have a material impact on the gym chain.

It remains unclear how the eventual Brexit will affect the physical activity sector in the long term, however market uncertainty has already caused Pure Gym to place its own IPO ambitions on ice in the short term.

Having warned against the perils of Brexit ahead of the 23 June referendum, ukactive executive director Steven Ward concluded last week’s Flame Awards with a rallying call for the sector to excel in the face of adversity. An impassioned Ward praised the industry’s sustained growth during the last recession, adding that the sector’s talent and commitment to improving the nation’s health would see it meet and defeat the latest set of challenges.