Viva Leisure prepares for gym reopenings

With its facilities closed since 25th March, Viva Leisure has advised of its plans for reopening its sites upon the easing of Coronavirus restrictions

In a release today, the ACT-based business noted that it has drawn down almost half its cash reserves during the COVID-19 lockdown, putting some of those funds for revamping its gyms for future business.

The company advised that $5 million had been spent on pre-closure creditors, as well as the acceleration of refurbishments, completion of sites under development and business improvements.

After listing on the ASX in mid-2019, the Canberra-based group has expanded from 33 to 83 locations through expansion of its brands including Club Lime, Groundup, Gymmy Pt, Hiit Republic, and Cycle Life and acquisitions, most recently of FitnFast clubs earlier this year.

The release highlighted the following upgrades:

• Five of the 10 Queensland locations will re-open fully refurbished and with upgraded equipment;
• Four locations currently under development/fit-out, two of which will be completed before re-opening, with the remaining two being in the Melbourne suburb of Nunawading (to be completed in July 2020) and the Sydney suburb of Pyrmont, Sydney (to be completed in late August 2020 at this stage)
• Two new locations have been completed during the shutdown and are ready to open (Gungahlin Club Lime in the ACT and Wagga Wagga Hiit Republic in NSW).

With the ACT Government having approved commercial pools to open, the company's Australian National University aquatic facilities already opened on Saturday while its hydrotherapy facilities at the Canberra International Sports & Aquatic Centre are expected to open today.

Scheduled easings of restrictions on gyms in the ACT (30th May), Queensland (12th June) and Victoria (22nd June) mean 70% of Viva Leisure's locations have confirmed opening dates, although the NSW Government has yet to make an announcement on when gyms can again open for business.

It is expected that Stage 2 will continue to have restrictions in place, likely to be 20 members within the gym, or different parts of each gym at one time, the final details are not yet known.

The company notes while any restriction on members is not ideal, it has implemented systems including bookings and automated people counters which restrict entry into the facility to assist with this short-term restriction. Members will be able to determine how busy each location is before attending outside of booked times.

Stage 3 of easing restrictions contemplates allowing 100 people in a gym at the same time, which would mean Viva can operate most facilities at full capacity.

Commenting on the group’s plans, Viva Leisure's Chief Executive and Managing Director Harry Konstantinou, stated "as we commence the tenth week of the mandatory shutdown of our clubs, our team has been working overtime to ensure we are ready to open our doors as soon as permitted to do so.

"It is promising to know that over 70% of our locations could be open within the next three to four weeks, albeit with some initial restrictions.

"The feedback from members we have received during this shutdown is encouraging, with a large percentage of members keen to get back into it."

Noting that data from reopened overseas clubs is encouraging, with the majority seeing higher than expected attendance and new member signups, Konstantinou (pictured above) added “while the mandatory shutdown is not something any business wants, it has allowed our team to reset, recharge and be ready to go.

"As expected, significant opportunities are now in front of us, and with our strong balance sheet, we will capitalise on them."

Viva has also successfully renegotiated deferrals or reduced rental payments for 25 locations, resulting in a saving of $444,000 per month on cashflow for up to six months.