Shock as Elysium health club suddenly shuts down

A health club near Wolverhampton with 800 members has shut down without warning after going into administration.

* Did you pay money for Elysium membership just before it closed down? Contact our reporters on 01902 319429 *

Around 35 people employed by Elysium Health and Fitness Club in Rectory Road, Albrighton, do not know if they will be paid wages owed to them.

The venue has been bought by Rectory Care Limited, which plans to turn the site into a retirement village.

Managing director Mike Turner today refused to say how much the company paid for the building, but said he hoped to have the village open within nine months.

The club, which includes gyms, a pool, spa and beauty facilities, was put up for sale by owners Oldbrook Developments Ltd in February 2010 for more than £1 million.

Today, a letter from administrators Grant Thornton UK LLP on the doors of the site said the directors had recently invited final offers due to a lack of interest.

Claim administrator Jeremy Birch said his company took control of the venue on Friday and that club members were entitled to make a claim for any fees.

Elysium Health and Fitness Club and Oldbrook Developments Ltd have not responded to calls from the Express & Star.

Staff and members of the club, who had paid upwards of £60 per month for membership, today spoke of their shock at news it has gone into administration.

Kate Lawrence, a 51-year-old mother-of-three, of Water Dale, Compton, arrived for a gym session today to find it closed.

"It was a shock and it is very sad," she said. "The staff there were always 100 per cent supportive and encouraging."

The health club shut down on Friday without warning.

One employee, who asked not to be named, said today staff were given no notice of its closure. "I was at work on Thursday and nothing was said," she said. "It is shocking. If we had known it would have at least given the staff some time to find other employment."