Health club hit by fire strikes deal over debts
BBCA health club in Derbyshire where a sauna fire broke out at the weekend has struck a deal with its creditors, including HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC).
Mark Clifford PT Ltd, which operates The Clifford Health Club and Spa in Long Eaton, has entered a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA), which allows insolvent limited companies to continue trading if they agree to pay creditors over a fixed period.
Documents show HMRC is owed more than £1m and British Gas owed £166,999.
In a Facebook post, Mark Clifford said he hopes to reopen the club on Saturday and plans to release a "full and detailed" statement later this week to provide "clarity and context" on the situation.
The CVA came into effect on 23 December 2025 and has been published on the Companies House website.
It showed Mark Clifford PT Ltd's creditors are owed a total of £2,242,392.
Under the arrangement, the company agreed to make monthly payments to its creditors until its debts are repaid.
If a company does not meet its agreed payment schedule, any of its creditors can apply for the business to be wound up.
Firefighters tackled a fire in a sauna at the health club on Saturday, with an investigation concluding an electrical fault was to blame.
No injuries were reported but the club remained closed for a number of days afterwards.
A number of customers of the health club on Regent Street were taken to hospital after a chlorine leak on 7 January 2025. The company later blamed human error for the incident.
Enid Hollingworth, from Chilwell in Nottinghamshire, was one of three people who announced they were taking legal action against the club as a result of the leak.
She was taken to hospital with breathing problems and suffered with a cough after being exposed to chlorine.
In January 2025, Erewash Borough Council announced it had started an investigation into the chlorine leak and last month a council spokesman told the BBC the investigation was still ongoing.
The company's largest creditor, HMRC, told the BBC that confidentiality laws meant it was unable to comment.
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