The owner of the New York Sports Clubs and Lucille Roberts gyms is seeking to speed up a planned sale of its business in bankruptcy court as pandemic pressures mount in the fitness industry, Bloomberg News reported. Town Sports International Holdings Inc. asked for court permission to shorten the timeline to sell itself to a group of investors or other interested parties, court papers show. Given gyms’ cash constraints and liquidity needs during the pandemic, the company is seeking to complete the sale by early next month. Lenders have submitted an initial credit bid for around $80 million. The fitness chain is still marketing its assets and has had “various levels of attendant discussions with nearly 50 potential bidders,” Christopher Wilson, an adviser to the company at Houlihan Lokey Inc., wrote in court papers. The sale must be approved by U.S. Bankruptcy Judge <b>Christopher Sontchi</b> of Delaware. A hearing to approve bidding motions is scheduled for 1 p.m. on Friday, with objections due the same day. Plans call for an Oct. 26 bid deadline and a sale hearing on Nov. 2.
