The devastated owners of SPT Fitness in Westcliff are now at their “last chance saloon” after being told back in September that they would have to leave their premises of the past 11 years.
Now going into their 12th year as a business, Scott Thompson and Gemma Davies are considering this may have been the last Christmas for the Prince Close business well-known for staying open over the holiday to help battle loneliness.
End of tether – Scott Thompson (Image: Scott Thompson)Scott has scoped out 40 properties in the area, but has had three promising opportunities fall through since September, battling behind the scenes to give his members hope and secure something by the fateful March deadline.
He said: “I am at the end of my tether. We have always been for our members, young and old, underweight or overweight, and we have tried not to worry them, but I have tried to find somewhere and it is almost impossible.
“The rent is often £2,000 to £3,000 a month more and I want to bury my head in the sand, the realisation is kicking in that we are opening this into our 12th year and that was maybe our last Christmas in there.
“Heads are all over the place and I wish I could give people answers.”
The gym, which is not a “bodybuilder’s gym” but more of a community fitness centre according to Scott, is proudly family-focused, being run with ex-wife Gemma and their children.
Despite the quickly approaching deadline, Scott feels that this can be resolved if he can just be given a chance at a reasonably priced venue.
He said: “Something good will come but I don’t know what it is, I wonder if one person sees this, they may think ‘I have a space and a building’.
“Things are pricing us out and some prices are ridiculous and not doable.”
This year’s Christmas opening was busier than ever according to Scott, which he believes “says something” about the type of place they are.
He said: “We have always been this kind of gym, I don’t even ask why people are there, it is a place to come and more and more people come each year.”