Equinox-Owned Blink Fitness Files For Bankruptcy, Plans To Sell

A Blink Fitness location at 27 W 116th St. in New York City.

Blink Fitness, Equinox’s budget-friendly gym brand, filed for Chapter 11 protection Monday morning. 

The fitness chain, with just over 100 locations across seven states, announced the filing in a press release and said it was a step toward a planned sale.

“After evaluating our options, the Board and management team determined that using the court-supervised process to optimize the Company’s footprint and effectuate a sale of the business is the best path forward for Blink and will help ensure Blink remains the destination for all people seeking an inclusive, community-focused gym,” Blink Fitness President and CEO Guy Harkless said.

Blink listed both its assets and liabilities between $100M and $500M, according to Bloomberg, which was the first to report the filing.

With the restructuring effort, Blink announced it has received $21M from existing lenders in new debtor-in-possession financing. The company said that the funds — once they are approved by the court — combined with cash from operations, should sustain the business during the bankruptcy process. 

The company, founded in 2011, operates in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, California, Illinois, Massachusetts and Texas. Blink Fitness advertises gym memberships ranging from $17 per month to $39 per month plus taxes and fees. 

Despite filing for bankruptcy, Blink said its financial performance has trended upward over the past two years, with revenue increasing by nearly 40%. This year, the company expects to deliver its best top- and bottom-line performance over the last five years. 

The company is being represented in the bankruptcy process by Young Conaway Stargatt & Taylor for legal advice and Moelis & Co. for financial advice. Portage Point Partners is acting as the restructuring advisor and Steven Shenker is the chief restructuring officer.

In July, Bloomberg reported that Blink was seeking fresh capital, likely in the form of a super-senior loan, in order to buy time to exit costly leases.

In the summer of 2022, Blink was facing 12 active lawsuits in New York City from landlords claiming they hadn’t received rents since the early days of the pandemic, a Bisnow analysis found. Landlords were seeking north of $8.9M at the time.