{"id":19286,"date":"2020-04-08T05:26:35","date_gmt":"2020-04-08T04:26:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ukactive.com\/news\/2800-fitness-facilities-and-100000-jobs-at-risk-of-being-lost-from-high-streets-and-communities-within-next-11-weeks\/"},"modified":"2020-04-08T05:26:35","modified_gmt":"2020-04-08T04:26:35","slug":"2800-fitness-facilities-and-100000-jobs-at-risk-of-being-lost-from-high-streets-and-communities-within-next-11-weeks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ukactive.com\/cy\/news\/2800-fitness-facilities-and-100000-jobs-at-risk-of-being-lost-from-high-streets-and-communities-within-next-11-weeks\/","title":{"rendered":"2,800 fitness facilities and 100,000 jobs at risk of being lost from high streets and communities within next 11 weeks"},"content":{"rendered":"

ukactive calls for urgent support from Government to save physical activity sector as operators struggle to survive without financial support<\/strong><\/p>\n

Thousands of leisure and fitness facilities that employ a total of 100,000 staff across the UK are set to disappear as organisations struggle to access loan support, face threats of eviction and are crippled by ongoing utility fees, delayed furloughing funds and failed insurance claims.<\/p>\n

Evidence obtained by ukactive in consultation with leaders from the nation\u2019s major fitness and leisure operators show that without the required relief from the mounting financial burdens then an estimated 2,800 facilities will cease trading by the middle of June 2020.<\/p>\n

Some of the operators warned they will only remain in business for another five weeks, due the crippling combination of zero income and outstanding rental and overhead fees.<\/p>\n

The Government\u2019s announcement that funding from the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme \u2013 designed to support the furloughing staff \u2013 will not be available until the end of April, means operators will struggle to pay staff, as their doors have been closed to customers for weeks.<\/p>\n

There are 189,000 people employed by gyms and leisure centres across the UK, meaning that more than half of the workforce will lose their jobs.<\/p>\n

Gyms and leisure centres were forced to close<\/a> by Government on 20 March as part of tougher social distancing measures designed to reduce the spread of COVID-19 (Coronavirus).<\/p>\n

While ukactive welcomed announcements<\/a> around the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, the extension of interest-free loans, the delay in VAT payments, and access of funding to include large and small organisations, question marks remain over how quickly the furlough funding and loans can be accessed, as well as clarification around rental payments and overheads for facilities.<\/p>\n

ukactive, as the representative body for the physical activity sector, is calling for the Government to undertake the following steps urgently:<\/p>\n