Skip to content Skip to Search
Skip navigation

Leejam seeks payoff for forced closure of Riyadh gyms

By Andy Sambidge
A man works out at a Fitness Time Xpress. Leejam runs 170-plus gyms in Saudi Arabia and the UAE Leejam Sports Company
A man works out at a Fitness Time Xpress. Leejam runs 170-plus gyms in Saudi Arabia and the UAE
  • Gyms on land needed for Diriyah Gate giga-project
  • Fitness company to write off $3m of assets
  • Leejam in talks with Saudi authorities over restitution

Leejam Sports Company is seeking compensation after being forced to close two of its gyms in Riyadh.

The shuttered Fitness Time centres are on land in the city’s Al Khuzama district, which has been earmarked for the $50 billion Diriyah Gate project.

In a filing to the Saudi Stock Exchange, Leejam said the two centres were closed last week and it would write off assets worth SAR11.4 million ($3 million) as a result. This will be reflected in its financial statements for the third quarter of 2023.

“The company is currently working on an agreement to try to compensate the company for the costs incurred by closing the two fitness centres with the relevant authorities,” Leejam added.

Under Article 5 of the Law of Expropriation of Real Estate for the Public Benefit and Temporary Seizure of Real Estate, the Diriyah Gate Development Authority can acquire land needed for the project.

The heritage and tourism giga-project is set to be home to 100,000 people and aims to attract 30 million visitors a year. It will include museums, retail space, restaurants and hotels.

Leejam, which runs more than 170 gyms in Saudi Arabia and the UAE, has also unveiled its first-half results. Revenue and net profit rose by 25 percent and 65 percent respectively compared to H1 2022, while membership numbers increased by 34 percent.

Revenue totalled SAR579 million and net profit hit SAR135 million. Men’s fitness centre continue to be the primary driver of growth.

Adnan Al Khalaf, the company’s CEO, said it was “well placed” for continued growth for the remainder of this year.

Latest articles

The National Bank of Bahrain says its bitcoin fund will protect investors from losses

Bahraini bank launches Gulf’s first bitcoin investment fund

The National Bank of Bahrain has launched a bitcoin-pegged structured investment product, aimed at targeting growing demand for the cryptocurrency among institutional investors in the Gulf countries.  The fund, developed in partnership with digital asset firm ARP Digital, will offer investors access to any rise in bitcoin’s price, capped within a predetermined threshold, and guarantee […]

2HK6351 Message about discount, fashion blog, modern shopping and cashback, shopping and lifestyle When completed, U Walk Qassim will have capacity for 135 shops

Cenomi Centers sets up fund to complete Qassim mall

Saudi mall operator Cenomi Centers has partnered with GIB Capital to set up a SAR1 billion ($270 million) real estate development fund that will manage a Cenomi land sale in Qassim and allow a mall project there to go ahead.  Bahrain’s Gulf International Bank (GIB), the third-largest lender in the country, is almost wholly owned […]

The UAE has approved its largest-ever national budget for the fiscal year 2025, with spending set to hit AED 71.5 billion

UAE announces largest-ever budget for 2025

The UAE has approved its largest-ever national budget for the fiscal year 2025, with spending set to hit AED71.5 billion ($19.5 billion), after capital expenditure increased by nearly half in the early part of this year. The government expects to match the 2025 expenditure with AED71.5 billion in revenues over the same period. Social Development […]

chicken exports

Gulf’s taste for chicken boosts Brazilian exports

Saudi Arabia and the UAE has helped Brazil record the second-highest volume of chicken meat exports in a single month. Shipments of chicken from Brazil in September increased 17.6 percent to the United Arab Emirates and 5.9 percent to Saudi Arabia. Brazil, the world’s largest supplier of chicken meat, exported 485,000 tonnes in total last […]