SINGAPORE: True Fitness and True Yoga’s abrupt closure on Friday (Sep 11) morning caught members by surprise, with several turning up at outlets to confirm the news.Some expressed resignation, citing gyms and other retail businesses that have shuttered suddenly in the past. Others said they would try to recoup fees for the unused portions of their memberships or packages.One member told CNA she paid over S$6,000 (US$4,700) for a “lifetime” membership eight years ago, which gave her access to True Fitness clubs across Asia. The 43-year-old starts every morning with a workout at a True Fitness gym.“Suddenly, I feel lost. Like I woke up – what am I going to do this morning? I think a lot of people feel that way,” she told CNA outside the True Fitness gym at Great World shopping mall.
“It’s sad because we forged a lot of friendships in this gym,” she added. “Most of the sentiments of the members here (are) it wasn’t just a gym, it was really considered home.”She decided to check the outlet, which is the nearest to her home, after hearing chatter about the closure among members on Thursday night, and seeing the news on Friday morning. True Group operates 10 fitness centres in Singapore across three brands: True Fitness, TFX and Yoga Edition. Its parent company is Hong Kong-listed Kontafarma China Holdings, which filed a bourse listing on Thursday night stating that the directors of True Fitness and True Yoga in Singapore were unable to continue business due to their liabilities.The company cited "unprecedented" challenges including competition from boutique gyms, exercise facilities in condominiums and private residences, and the rise of digital training options. The fitness centres are closing as part of the liquidation process, with insolvency practitioners provisionally appointed.True Group, which was established in Singapore in 2004, earlier pulled out of Malaysia and Thailand in 2017, and Taiwan in 2025.The mismanagement of the closures of the Malaysia and Thailand businesses was the subject of a lawsuit in Singapore, which True Fitness and True Yoga won against True Group's founder and then-CEO in 2022.A High Court judge found that Mr Patrick John Wee Ewe Seng, who is no longer CEO, had allowed the sale of long-term memberships while knowing that they faced impending closure.
