Abandoned IPO cost Pure Gym £6.8m

Pure gym's planned initial public offering (IPO) that was abandoned last year cost the group £6.8m (US$8.48m, €7.9m), according to sources.

The cost was because the operator had "two runs at it," which involved "a lot of work," sources told Health Club Management.

In January 2016, HCM reported that Pure Gym was considering floating on the stock market.

Later in July, the planned IPO was put on ice because of uncertainty caused by the vote to leave the European Union.

In September, Humphrey Cobbold, Pure Gym chief executive, said the operator was "ready to become a listed company" and that it would be using the IPO to raise £190m (US$237m, €220.6m). However, a month later Cobbold told HCM that it had withdrawn its plans due to challenging market conditions.

Earlier today (30 March), Pure Gym announced that revenues rose by 28 per cent to £159.9m (US$198.5, €184.9m) last year, up from £125.2m (US$155.4m, €144.8m) in 2015.

In 2015, when the Gym Group floated, its IPO-related costs were £7.6m (US$9.5m, €8.8m).