Equinox Group-owned gym chain Blink Fitness files for bankruptcy protection

Blink Fitness, a budget-friendly gym chain owned by luxury fitness company Equinox Group, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

The fitness brand, with more than 100 centers in the U.S., is the latest chain to seek bankruptcy post-pandemic, following companies such as New York Sports Club, 24 Hour Fitness and Gold’s Gym.

The company plans to sell its business and has listed its assets and liabilities at $100 million and $500 million, respectively. It plans to continue to operate its fitness centers during the sale process, according to a release.

“Over the last several months, we have been focused on strengthening Blink’s financial foundation and positioning the business for long-term success,” Guy Harkless, CEO and president of Blink Fitness said in a statement. “After evaluating our options, the Board and management team determined that using the court-supervised process to optimize the Company’s footprint and effectuate a sale of the business is the best path forward.”

This is not the first move by Equinox Group to improve the company’s finances. Luxury fitness center Equinox, which falls in the group’s holdings alongside brands such as SoulCycle and Pure Yoga, completed a $1.8 billion funding round in March, in part to refinance its $1.2 billion of debt.

The company, which is not publicly traded, said it saw a 27% revenue increase in 2023 and that it has seen membership levels almost fully return to pre-pandemic levels. Equinox has a current pipeline to open more than two dozen new locations globally.

Earlier this year, Equinox also launched a $40,000 annual gym membership aimed at its most affluent member base in an effort to improve its finances as well.

This all comes as a CNBC/Generation Lab Youth and Money Poll — which polled 1,034 people ages 18 to 34 in the U.S. in August — showed that roughly one-third of Americans in that age range spend between $1 and $50 a month on exercise and fitness, while 47% report spending “nothing at all.”

Blink offers membership ranging between $17 and $39 per month depending on the location and competes with other budget gym chains such as Planet Fitness, which raised the price of its base membership to $15 per month back in June.

Unlike Blink, Planet Fitness reported strong membership growth of 7% year over year in its second quarter to reach a total of 19.7 million members. Planet Fitness shares recently hit a 52-week high, reaching levels not seen since May 2023.