James Archibald

Virgin Active

It has been yet another tough year for businesses due to the continuation of the Covid-19 pandemic. Virgin Active can breathe a sigh of relief, however, in having James Archibald as its group legal director.

The restrictions on the health, leisure and wellbeing industry saw Archibald jump into crisis management mode, going down the route of using a restructuring plan under the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act.

It was not an easy process to undertake and it was heavily opposed, but in May the High Court sanctioned Virgin Active’s restructuring plans.

Archibald worked relentlessly alongside the CEO and CFO to balance conflicting interests and sort out a package that could be realistically implemented.

He was able to launch the plan which gave the company some breathing space during a very difficult time. The process was successful: the company has since secured funding from shareholders and the brand licence holders. With the pandemic still raging, it looks like hard times will continue for the leisure industry for a while yet. Archibald will be ready.