ONE Motivation Gym has closed with immediate effect after the locks were changed during debt enforcement – months after reassuring customers it remained “fully operational”.

In an email sent to members this morning, seen by the JEP, the Halkett Street gym said it could no longer trade after the Viscount’s Department changed the locks.

The company said it had proposed a payment plan to clear outstanding debt, with payments due to begin next week, but that the department had instead required a £15,000 payment by the end of the day, which it could not meet.

“We wrote to the department explaining our situation, setting out our payment plan and asking for more time, with you and our staff very much in mind,” the email said.

“Sadly, they decided to proceed with enforcement, and this morning the locks to the premises were changed.

“Without access to the building or the equipment, we are unable to continue.”

The closure follows reports by the JEP in June that “all movable assets” at the St Helier premises could be sold to recover an unpaid debt.

A notice of distraint naming One Motivation Ltd was issued on 5 June and published in the Jersey Gazette. Such notices advise that a debtor’s assets may be seized, valued and sold to recover unpaid debt.

At the time, concerns were raised among customers about their memberships, particularly those who had recently signed up for discounted six- or 12-month deals.

In a statement reported by the JEP on 29 June, the gym said the notice concerned “historic matters” from 2022 and 2024, and that a payment plan had already been agreed with the Viscount.

“The Notice of Distraint has no impact on the day-to-day running of the business, our services, or our ability to serve our members,” it said at the time.

Today’s email told members they would no longer be able to access the premises.

Anyone with personal belongings inside has been asked to contact the Viscount’s Department to arrange collection.

One Motivation said: “We want you to know that we did everything we could to keep the gym open, and we are truly sorry for the disappointment and disruption this causes.

Thanking members for “every session, every early morning and every bit of support”, One Motivation Limited said it would contact them again when it had more information about what would happen next.

More in tomorrow’s JEP…