Virgin Active received millions of pounds from Sir Richard Branson, who has invested in Virgin Active with the intention of helping the chain of gyms to overcome the pandemic.
Branson’s Virgin Group and South African investment firm Brait completed a joint £12million capital raise for Virgin Active in recent weeks as the Omicron variant pushed leisure firms’ recovery into reverse.
Brait, which owns just under 80 per cent of the fitness chain, contributed £9.6million and Virgin Group put in £2.4million to reflect its 20 per cent stake.
Flagging: Virgin Active has suffered a major setback from the Omicron variant
The latest round of shareholder support follows a £70million restructuring completed in May, after Virgin Active came close to collapse during the pandemic.
Under the rescue plan, the group renegotiated debt with its lenders and landlords, and Virgin Group and Brait injected £45million.
Brait, which is controlled by South African tycoon Christo Wiese, launched a R3billion (£140million) rights issue last month, saying that Virgin Active’s ‘underperformance’ over the various lockdowns had required ‘significant’ shareholder support.
It was able to finance its 80 percent share of capital raises by extending its bank credit.
It is understood that this month’s £12million cash injection for Virgin Active has been put in place to ensure the fitness chain can shoulder a bumpy and protracted recovery from the pandemic.
On Monday Branson also chipped in to a £400million fundraise for Virgin Atlantic to steer the airline through winter travel turbulence.
In total, Branson and Virgin Group have injected more than $800million (£600million) into Virgin companies since the start of the pandemic.
Virgin Active, which Branson founded in 1999, now includes 43 clubs across the UK as well as 194 throughout Asia, Europe and South Africa.