Gym run by Apprentice winner Rachel Woolford has never made a profit since its opening four years ago
THE Apprentice winner Rachel Woolford’s gym has not made profit since it opened four years ago.
The 28-year-old won a £250,000 investment from Lord Alan Sugar on Thursday after she beat pie maker Phil Turner in the BBC business contest.
But figures filed this week with Companies House put R Nation Ltd — her firm behind the gym in Leeds — £336,346 in the red for 2023.
That is up from the £288,409 owed in 2022.
Much of it reflects the spend on equipment she had to buy when the gym opened in 2020.
With assets taken into account, R Nation is valued at -£124,992.
Rachel called winning The Apprentice “beyond my wildest dreams”.
Her representative said the gym business has no third-party debt and is confident it will turn a profit by the end of 2024.
The win surprised many viewers as Rachel barely appeared on screen until the third episode.
She said: “I was just a girl from Leeds, and now I’m going into business with Lord Sugar.
“I went into The Apprentice promising I would just be myself, and not turn it on in any way in front of the cameras, throw anyone else under the bus or be bitchy.
“I wanted to prove you don’t need to be the loudest voice and screaming at the others.
“For that, people saw me as a bit of an underdog. But my main value in business, and in life, is that you don’t have to shout to get your point across.”