Europe's largest gym chain, Basic-Fit, has published its trading update for the first nine months of 2020, showing a strong cash position and increases in membership and clubs numbers.

During the period January - September 2020, Basic-Fit opened 118 new clubs, increasing its portfolio to 902.

The new openings contributed to the number of memberships increasing by 6 per cent, year on year, to reach 2.25 million.

Basic-Fit plans to open 11 more clubs this year, then put a temporary stop on development until more is known about the trajectory of the pandemic. In spite of this, the company says it is still committed to opening a further 337 clubs by the end of 2022.

The group recorded revenues of €318.2m during the period, a decrease of 14 per cent, compared to the €371.5m in the same period in 2019. CEO Rene Moos, said the decrease was "entirely attributable" to club closures due to COVID-19 – notably in the mid-March-June period.

Moos said: “Following the reopening of our clubs in June and July we saw strong membership development, until the resurgence of COVID-19 and subsequent club closures in France in the second half of September.

"Since the reopening of our clubs in June and July, we have applied strict hygiene protocols and have had more than 30 million visits in our clubs – of which 15 million were in France without any reported outbreak of COVID-19.

"The absence of clusters of COVID-19 has also been seen throughout the industry which has helped governments to apply intelligent and more granular measures than during the first wave.

"We will continue to apply strict hygiene protocols and cooperate with local governments to battle COVID-19 and at the same time enable as many people as possible to continue to work on their fitness and strengthen their immune system.

"Due to the continued uncertainties regarding COVID-19 and potential further government measures, we have decided to postpone the construction of additional new clubs for the time being. The clubs that are currently in an advanced stage of construction will be finished in the coming months.

"We expect to end the year with 913 clubs in our network.

"We continue to expect to reach our medium-term club target of 1,250 clubs by 2022. We have a strong financial position with approximately €170 million liquidity.

"In light of the current uncertainties regarding the development of COVID-19 we will be particularly focusing on cost control and cash flow management in the short-term.

"Once COVID-19 is under control we will be optimally positioned to further strengthen our leading position in the European fitness market.”