International News: LA Fitness Seeks to Sell 33 Gyms in $418 Million Debt-Cut Plan according to CEO Martin Long

LA Fitness Group, the operator of sports clubs in the U.K. and Ireland, will sell 33 of its 80 gyms as part of a plan to reduce debt.

The club has also entered so-called company voluntary arrangements with landlords to reduce the rent at some of its gyms, LA Fitness said in a statement yesterday. The company says it aims to reduce its debt by about 250 million pounds ($418 million).

LA Fitness’s creditors will vote on the company voluntary arrangements on March 24. Deloitte LLP was appointed to run the process.

“We will create a leaner, more operationally efficient business, with a long-term, sustainable future,” Chief Executive Officer Martin Long said in the statement. “We will have the financial strength and operational flexibility to continue investing in facilities, equipment and technology.”

MidOcean Partners, a New York private-equity firm, in 2005 became a shareholder in LA Fitness, which was founded in 1990 by Fred Turock, Jeremy Taylor and David Turner.