A gym or fitness studio is one of the most equipment-heavy businesses there is. The kit on the floor is your product, the space it sits in is your brand, and both cost real money to put right. Credicorp lends to UK limited companies and LLPs running gyms, studios, and fitness facilities for genuine business purposes — to fit out a site, refresh tired equipment, or carry the costs that come with a seasonal membership cycle.
The fitness cash-flow pattern
Membership income is famously seasonal. January and the early spring bring a surge of new sign-ups; late summer and the run-up to Christmas tend to be quieter. Your fixed costs — rent, equipment servicing, instructors, and utilities — run steadily through all of it. That mismatch between lumpy revenue and level costs is the pressure point most operators know well, and it is exactly where short-term funding can smooth things out. Our note on managing cash flow in a seasonal business walks through the wider pattern.
What funding can help with
- Fitting out a new site or refurbishing an existing one
- Refreshing cardio and resistance equipment as it wears or dates
- Building capacity ahead of the January demand spike — more machines, more studio space, more class slots
- Covering fixed costs through a quieter off-peak stretch
- Marketing and onboarding ahead of a key membership season
A planned equipment buy with Slice
When the spend is a specific, planned purchase — a rack of new treadmills, a functional-training rig, or a full studio refit — Credicorp Slice is usually the better fit. Slice settles the cost in fixed instalments over a set term, so the equipment and the repayments run alongside each other and your working capital stays free for wages and rent. Slice can pay your supplier directly, which keeps a large equipment order moving without draining the account. For an ongoing, dip-in-and-out facility instead — handy for absorbing seasonal swings rather than one purchase — Credicorp Flex is the revolving option. If you are weighing the two, see Credicorp Flex vs Credicorp Slice.
How we assess fitness operators
We look at how your business trades across the full year — the seasonal shape, not just a single month — and how the funding fits your plan. The rate and term are confirmed in your offer and reflect your company's own profile, so read the offer in full before you accept it. If a fit-out is what you are weighing, our guide to funding a fit-out or refurbishment covers how we approach that kind of project.
The basics
The agreement is with your company, with no director personal guarantees. We lend to limited companies and LLPs, not to sole traders or individuals — see who we lend to for the detail. Credicorp is the lender, not a broker. As an exempt business lender outside the FCA consumer-credit regime, the Financial Ombudsman Service and the FSCS do not apply. We will help you choose between Credicorp Flex and Credicorp Slice for the job in front of you.
See also: Can an accountancy practice borrow from Credicorp?, Funding equipment and plant costs, Financing materials and stock purchases.