Budget health club operator Pure Gym has announced plans to float on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) in a deal which could see it raise £190m.

The UK’s largest private gym chain said it would use the funds raised through the initial public offering (IPO) to bolster “future growth opportunities”.

Humphrey Cobbold, CEO of Pure Gym, said: “We are ready to become a listed company.

“An IPO will enable us to be an even stronger counterparty for landlords, further raise our profile by building greater awareness of our strong brand, and provide a mechanism for incentivising the colleagues who have worked so hard to build the UK’s leading gym business.

“We have a well-established and committed management team and are already benefiting from the scale of our 167 gym estate which provides a fantastic platform for future expansion in the fitness and health arena.

“As well as opening more gyms, we will continue to invest in technology and the innovation it supports. Technological capability has been and will remain fundamental to our success and going forward offers opportunities to further differentiate the options and services we provide our members.”

Earlier this year, Health Club Management revealed that Cobbold pulled the plug on a planned IPO, citing the UK’s volatile markets following the Brexit vote believed to have caused a halt in plans to float the business.

Those worries have now seemingly dissipated and Pure Gym will follow rival low-cost operator The Gym Group onto the LSE.

Founded in 2008, Pure Gym is the largest gym operator in the UK by both number of gyms (163) and number of members (785,770).

Commenting on the IPO, Tony Ball, chair of Pure Gym said: “Pure Gym’s growth from a start-up company in 2008 to undisputed market leader today is a story of disruption and shows how entrepreneurial vision can build real business success.

“When the company was founded, the traditional gym market was moribund. It did not cater for modern gym users who are tech-savvy, want to be able to exercise at any time of day or night and want gyms they actually use, all without being locked into an expensive 12-month contract.

“Our successful model is built around our members’ needs and it has made gym membership accessible for hundreds of thousands of people and created a fast growing, successful company. Considering what the company has achieved in just eight years, I am hugely excited about its potential for the future.”

Pure Gym puts IPO on hold as Brexit bites