Covid in Wales: Gym owners fear homelessness amid new restrictions

Worried gym owners fear new Covid restrictions could mean they lose their homes.

One said they thought they would already be homeless, had they not taken on full-time work as a hospital physiotherapist.

Another said they feared losing everything next year if the situation did not improve.

The Welsh government said the measures were designed to stop the spread of the virus and protect people's health.

Gyms and other businesses will have to reintroduce social distancing, along with other measures including one-way systems from 27 December.

The rules are part of measures being brought in by the Welsh government to slow the spread of the Omicron variant of coronavirus which is spreading rapidly across the UK.

James Kempton, manager of Energie Fitness in St Mellons, Cardiff, said: "It's a matter of time now. I have until about March to break even before I run out of money.

"I will probably end up homeless and owing so much money to Lloyds Bank and Hitachi Capital, that even if I pick myself up they will come after me."

The 39-year-old said the new rules were already affecting him.

"As soon as they utter these things it hits my pocket," Mr Kempton explained.

"Sales this month and last month are much lower than normal."

Jin Bowring returned to full-time work to make ends meet.

The 39-year-old works as a physiotherapist at Llandough Hospital while running evening "JinFit" classes at the Penarth gym she runs with husband Matthew.

The mum-of-twins said: "It's quite a small boutique studio. With social distancing I can only get six or seven people in there, including myself.

"I went to online classes through the pandemic but it has been a nightmare.

"Small businesses are not going to survive."

January is traditionally boom-time for gyms as customers sign up to get rid of the pounds they put on celebrating over Christmas.

Smaller businesses need these customers to get them through the quieter parts of the year.

"If it was my full-time job I would be struggling to make payments on my house and bills," Ms Bowring said.

"I would probably be homeless if I was not able to go back to work. Financially it's not doing great, it would be a struggle.

"I'm just very lucky I had a job to fall back on."

Personal trainer Francesca Ray normally trains clients at Simply Gym, in Llansamlet, Swansea.

Business is not the same as it was pre-pandemic, she said, but was "better than nothing".

"Being self-employed there is that uncertainty hanging over your head," she said, but added it was a matter of making "the best of a bad situation".

Ms Ray is not planning on getting a different job.

"I'm passionate about the job and the clients, so it's not something I would easily give up. I would never give up on my clients," she explained.

"We have got to ride the storm. Lets hope it is a smaller storm than before."

At Hydrofitness Ladies Gym in Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, owner Anna Prince said she was living "month-to-month".

She took out a Bounce Back Loan - a UK government-backed loan scheme to help small businesses stay afloat during Covid - but this was dwindling "rapidly", Ms Price said.

"I'm going to go on for as long as I can," she said.

"I just hope and pray that they don't close us again.

"Unless they give us financial support, we will not be able to reopen."

Wendy Morris, manager of Energie Fitness in Bridgend, said she felt lucky her gym was quite large at 8,000 sq ft.

It is able to cope with social distancing better than many smaller gyms, but has lost 300 members since the start of the pandemic.

"It's extremely stressful. I was relieved on a personal level because two metres is something I can accommodate," she said.

"I'm lucky. But I have friends who are not so lucky."

A Welsh government spokesman said: "The omicron variant is a worrying development in the ongoing pandemic. The speed it spreads and its potential to infect large numbers of people is a serious concern.

"Additional measures being brought in from 27 December are there to help stop the spread of the virus and to protect the health of the public.

"Financial support of up to £60m will be available to businesses materially affected by these new restrictions. We are working intensively with partners on how that support can most effectively be delivered, and further details will follow as soon as possible."