An award winning Liverpool gym that directly employs personal trainers and has raised over £30,000 for Alder Hey Children’s Charity is being forced to consider staff redundancies following yesterday’s Budget announcement, the latest in a series of rising costs that have pushed the community-focused business to breaking point.
Limitless Lifestyle Community, a gym and wellbeing centre based in Liverpool, has seen its business rates triple from £400 to £1,300 per month over recent years, while also facing repeated increases to National Insurance contributions and other tax obligations. Yesterday’s Budget offered no relief for small businesses providing social value to their communities.
The business operates on a model almost unheard of in the fitness industry: directly employing personal trainers rather than using the standard self-employed contractor model. This approach provides job security and proper employment rights to staff, but also means the business bears the full burden of rising employer costs.
Unanswered Cries for Help
Compounding the financial pressure, Limitless reached out to Liverpool City Council in March 2024 requesting business rates relief. The request went unanswered. A follow-up approach in October 2024 also received no response.
“We’ve tried to do everything right,” said Levi, co-founder of Limitless. “We employ people properly, we give back to our community, we’ve raised thousands of pounds for charity. But after years of rising costs with no support, and now zero response from the council when we’ve asked for help, yesterday’s Budget feels like the final straw.”
“We’re now facing the heartbreaking reality of cutting staff hours or making people redundant. These aren’t just numbers on a spreadsheet, they’re real people with families, mortgages, and lives that will be directly affected,” said Alex, co-founder of Limitless.
Community Impact at Risk
Limitless has built a reputation for accessible health and fitness support, mental wellbeing programmes, and significant charitable work. The gym’s community has collectively raised over £30,000 for Alder Hey Children’s Charity through various fundraising initiatives.
The business model of directly employing trainers ensures members receive consistent, professional support while giving employees proper job security, holiday pay, and employment rights, benefits rarely seen in an industry dominated by zero-hour contracts and self-employment.
A Wider Crisis for Values-Driven Businesses
We believe the situation at Limitless reflects a broader crisis facing small, community- oriented businesses across Liverpool and the wider UK. Levi states, “Every Budget for the last few years has added more financial pressure. Business rates up, National Insurance up, taxes up. But what’s been implemented to actually support small businesses like ours? Nothing meaningful. And when we reach out to the systems that are supposed to help us, we get silence.”
Alex states, “How are businesses that genuinely care about their communities and their staff supposed to survive when we’re being squeezed from every direction with no support? Something has to change, or we’re going to lose the businesses that actually give back.”
What Happens Next
Without intervention or support, Limitless faces difficult decisions in the coming weeks about staff hours and potential redundancies. The business is calling for Liverpool City Council to engage with their request for business rates relief and for government to consider the impact of Budget measures on small businesses providing clear social value.
Limitless Lifestyle Community / 89 Dale Street, Liverpool, L2 2JD
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