The proposed sale of troubled fitness club operator, Esporta, has been put on hold after administrators failed to reach an agreement with prospective buyers.

According to the Financial Times, it had been anticipated that the business would have been sold off in two parts, with David Lloyd Leisure (DLL) reportedly interested in Esporta's racquet clubs. However, the sale was called off as a willing buyer could not be found for the fitness club unit, although both LA Fitness and Bannatyne Fitness are believed to have been in the hunt.

A source told the newspaper: "The view was that the administrators did not want to be left with a weak asset in a falling market. They would prefer to sell the fitness side first before selling the racquet unit." Scott Lloyd, managing director of DLL, told an LPF Seminar at the end of November that "it was the company's intention to consolidate in the premium racquet clubs" and that it is "interested in Esporta's racquet element."

Lloyd also added that any deal was dependent on decisions that Société Générale, owner of Esporta, would make regarding the timing and economics of an agreement, and whether the Esporta brand is to be sold off as a single entity or not.