A creditors’ voluntary liquidation is in progress at London-based boutique operator, United Fitness Brands (UFB).

Chief brand director, Hilary Rowland, has confirmed to HCM that the CVL is in process and a yet to be named entity is interested in buying the assets.

Industry insiders have told HCM it's likely the assets will be bought back by one of the existing shareholders.

United Fitness Brands was formed in March 2021, an audacious move considering the pandemic, which had not been kind to the boutique sector and was still far from over. While other boutiques took tough decisions to consolidate businesses around the most profitable sites or pivot to a membership model, UFB kept ambitions high and carried on opening studios and diversifying in terms of models and modalities.

At the outset the company was backed by Pembroke VCT, Nectar Capital as well as some high net-worth individuals and chaired by David Lloyd, who quietly left some time later. The plan was to merge with other boutiques to make a supergroup of boutique brands, which could pool resources, share expertise and work collectively. It also opened up expansion opportunities as more than one brand could go into a space.

The first brands under the UFB umbrella were Boom Cycle – Rowland’s category-defining indoor cycling concept – and Joe Cohen’s boutique boxing concept, Kobox, which counted David Beckham among its fans. With synergy between the brands and an overlap of the client base it made sense.

At the time of the merger Rowland told HCM: “We want each brand to keep doing what they’re doing. We’re looking for brands that have become successful because they’ve developed their own identity and created a loyal community of users and we don’t want them to change that. What we want to do is to make sure each brand has a better opportunity to grow and develop by sharing resources and operating in a more efficient way.”

Barrecore came under the ownership of United Fitness Brands in April 2021, bringing the number of sites in the portfolio to more than 20, including three outside London. Barrecore fitted the pedigree with a celebrity following that included Pippa Middleton, Claudia Schiffer, Rita Ora and Poppy Delevingne.

Although COVID restrictions were still in place, the company was cross-pollinating, with Kobox opening its fourth studio within Boom Cycle’s Waterloo site and Barrecore moving alongside Kobox in its flagship studio on the King’s Road, Chelsea.

A year later, Triyoga – which had been trailblazing in making yoga mainstream and had five studios across London – was added to the portfolio. It went into administration in September 2022 and was dissolved in December 2024, however it continues to trade after administrators sold its assets and is now owned by United Fitness Ltd – a company founded on 15 June 2024 with sole owner being Harjinder Dhindsa.

With reformer Pilates booming, a reformer concept, Reformcore, was developed in 2023 and five sites were rolled out within a year. Franchising expert, Richard North was appointed as CEO in January 2024, and a few months later moved across to head up franchise growth – saying there were plans for 150 sites globally within five years. Malcolm Armstrong took over as CEO.

Other changes were going on behind the scenes. With the popularity of indoor cycling waning a little across the industry, as the original tribe settled down and had kids, the Boom Cycle programming was being adapted for a wider audience and Barrecore was being repositioned to appeal to a younger demographic.

But even diversifying into reformer Pilates hasn’t been enough to save the business. In January UFB closed a number of its loss-making sites – some at short notice – and told HCM it was 'right-sizing' ahead of launching a five-year strategy. In May 1Rebel took over the lease of the flagship Chelsea site as the last Kobox closed.

Even though the fitness industry is growing in terms of penetration, revenues and the number of sites, and the interest in health among consumers has never been higher, the trading environment can still be challenging for some boutiques, depending on their business model and as modalities come in and out of fashion – with boxing and indoor cycling not recording the levels of growth seen previously.

Dealing with higher living costs, consumers are also looking for value and there are many options available for their wellness spend, especially with recovery studios and social wellness clubs popping up across the capital. Many mid-range and low-cost operators have raised the bar on their experiences – offering classes in line with the boutiques, but within the price of a monthly membership, forcing the boutiques to drop their prices on aggregators in order to fill slots.

UFB was also dragging along a crippling debt pile, with £17,758,162 losses in its profit and loss reserves at the date of its last accounts for the year to 31 December 2022, which were filed in April 2024.

Investors injected cash into the business in June 2023 and April 2024 and undertook to underwrite debt for that financial year, but ultimately it hasn't been possible to turn the business around.

Hilary Rowland is the sole remaining director of United Fitness Brands Ltd.