Gymshark nets £45m profit as founder Ben Francis climbs up Sunday Times Rich List
Sportswear brand Gymshark has pocketed a £45.4m pre-tax profit – a further jolt of good news for its young founder, who has risen in the Sunday Times Rich List.
The e-commerce fashion retailer saw profit rocket in the year to July 2021, compared to 2020’s sum of £30.4m, according to accounts filed to Companies House last week. After tax, profit was £36.5m.
Headed by 29-year old Ben Francis, the Gen Z-focused brand saw sales surge 54 per cent to £401.9m, versus £260.7m in 2020.
Francis has boosted his rank in The Sunday Times’ guide to wealthy individuals, now ranking at 226nd, up from his debut position at 191st last year.
The Sunday Times upgraded Gymshark’s value to £1.25bn, after the firm now boasts a 900-strong workforce across offices in Denver, Hong Kong, Mauritius and the UK.
Francis’ wealth was subsequently given a £875m price tag, with another £25m added for previous share sales and other assets, including a farm in the Cotswolds – £900m in total.
The CEO and founder, who has a net stake of 70 per cent in Gymshark created the brand as a teenager in 2012.
Gymshark’s Francis sold a 21 per cent stake to private equity General Atlantic in August 2020.
It comes as there has been a flurry of speculation over the possibility of the brand making a blockbuster public float, after receiving a £1bn valuation.
City sources told Sky News the company had been “aggressively” pitched to by investment banks, last October. They said an initial public offering of its shares would most likely be in London.
Founder Francis told CityA.M. in November that there were no “imminent” plans for a public listing of the company.
“What we’re doing is we’re just chatting to banks to educate ourselves of our options. Nothing imminent,” Francis said, speaking at an event to announce US entrepreneur Gary Vaynerchuk joining the company’s board.
Discussions on a float were focusing on “the next few years as we continue to grow,” he added.
In documents published via Companies House, Gymshark confirmed 120 “job reductions” are anticipated by the end of July, after a restructuring programme was communicated to staff in April.
However, the firm said the restructuring programme involved the creation of more than 100 new roles. “The business will seek to offer as many of these new roles to its current staff where it is appropriate to do so,” it stated.
The costs of the restructuring programme will be “in the region of £2.5m”.
Gymshark has inked a lease for a flagship store at 165 Regent Street, with a lease liability of around £21.9m. Its first bricks and mortar store will boast 180,000 square feet.
“We are nothing without our community, so we wanted to create something that allows us to thank them and get closer to them. This store is not going to be like anything you have seen before,” Francis said when news of the store was announced.