09/05/2022
No doubt most of you will have heard various rumours over the past few weeks and I would like to take this opportunity to set the record straight.
I was advised in March 2020 that to protect my at-risk handicapped son from covid it would be best to shield in our remote french holiday home, during that time i have had to take somewhat of a backseat in the running of the gym. Since the last lockdown it was expected that members would return to pre-pandemic levels, but unfortunately this has not happened (not from a financial perspective anyway). Because of this the business has been unable to keep up with its financial commitments and is now in a very precarious position. I am doing my very best to resolve the issues that the lack of income has forced on us, but I must be honest with you all, and tell you that it's 50:50 that the situation can be resolved.
As a business we stopped accepting payments for monthly and long term memberships in CASH many years ago, but being back in the UK and investigating what has been going on, it appears that many of you have in fact been paying cash (or transferring money to a 3rd party bank account) for your memberships. These deals have never been authorised by the business, and are fraudulent transactions. Whilst several members have already come forward, I urge anyone who has been paying in cash (or transferring funds to a non HHC bank account) to come forward with details of what has been paid, to who, and when, so the matter can be properly investigated. I assure you I hold no ill will against you, and there will be no future negative implications for you in coming forward, I simply need to get to the bottom of the matter. Only myself and my daughter have access to this FB page now, and I implore those members who have been paying cash to come forward by direct messaging us with your experience, as gaining full knowledge of this information is perhaps the only way things can be turned around.
Another rumour which seems to be circulating is that I have somehow run the gym into the ground by sucking all the cash from the business. The truth of the matter is that I have only ever invested in the business. I have not received a single penny in salary, fee’s, dividends or any other kind of payment in the last 9 years, in fact the business still owes me personally in the region of £80,000 so I desperately need the gym to work if I am ever going to recoup this investment.
Finally I would like to personally apologise to all our members for allowing this situation to arise, I know just how much this gym means to many of you, and assure you that I am doing everything I can to keep the business going for the benefit of all its stakeholders and the local community.
Thank you all for your continued support,
Sam
