Mersey gym secures £100,000 loan from MSIF
EmpoweredFIT was opened in 2017 by Chris Ellerby-Hemmings and Thea Holden and aimed to provide a ‘bespoke gym experience’. Tony McDonough reports
A Merseyside gym has secured a £100,000 loan from Liverpool business loan and equity provider MSIF as it comes out of lockdown.
Located in Greasby in Wirral, EmpoweredFIT was opened in 2017 by Chris Ellerby-Hemmings and Thea Holden and aimed to provide a “bespoke gym experience” focusing on both physical and mental wellbeing.
The business was introduced to MSIF by Duncan McCann of Shareholder Strategies in early 2020. They discussed securing funding to expand their space to allow for more members, in addition to refinancing existing funding.
However, the COVID-19 pandemics and subsequent lockdown impacted on this expansion plan. Now EmpoweredFIT has secured a £100,000 loan from MSIF’s Coronavirus Recovery and Resilience Fund, delivered by fund manager subsidiary, Alliance Fund Managers (AFM).
The loan is being backed by the Government’s Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) and was arranged by investment manager Andy Jones. It has enabled the business to navigate its reopening successfully through the evolving stages of release of lockdown.
Now EmpoweredFIT intends to follow original plans of expanding its premises to help accommodate new members. Director, Chris Ellerby-Hemmings said: “The involvement and expertise from both Andy and Duncan has helped to ensure that we not only received the most suitable funding, but that we were best prepared for upgrading and re-starting EmpoweredFIT following the lockdown.
“Since reopening, we have hit the ground running and we are busier than ever. We have had over 600 new members subscribe to our service. We can now look to revisit our plans to expand the premises, helping to welcome more members to the EmpoweredFIT family.”
Andy Jones added: “As a new customer, we are thrilled to welcome the EmpoweredFIT team to the portfolio. We continue to look to back and support quality businesses such as EmpoweredFIT that have encountered short term pain due the pandemic.”