Blackout over public property given to a private gym operator

Education Minister Clifton Grima and SportMalta CEO Mark Cutajar are refusing to explain how public properties administered under their remit were transferred to a private gym owner and are being used as private fitness facilities.

At least three locations, forming part of some eight gyms currently operating as Best Gyms Malta, have been identified by The Shift as being publicly owned.

These are the Best Gyms’ facilities opened at the National Pool Complex in Tal-Qroqq, another at the Kirkop Sports Complex, and another, still under refurbishment, at the Marsa Sports Centre. All three form part of national sports facilities administered by SportMalta.

When asked whether the lease of these public spaces was awarded through an open tender process or by direct order, both Minister Grima and the SportMalta CEO refused to provide any information, despite multiple reminders.

Antoine Micallef, a former bodybuilding athlete, is the man behind the expansion of Best Gyms.

Attempts to ask Micallef to explain how he acquired the use of public facilities to turn them into private gyms were unsuccessful, as questions sent to his company, AM Fitness Ltd, went unanswered.

Sources insist that Micallef is not the only investor involved in this expansion, as other individuals engaged in the running of sports clubs, including those involved in Premier League football, may be acting as silent partners.

Yet, according to research on the Malta Business Registry, the only partner involved in Micallef’s company is Andrea Sultana, who is relatively unknown in the local sports scene.

Micallef’s gym enterprise started in 2015, when he opened his first gym. Since then, his business has grown rapidly, with the opening of facilities in eight locations in Malta.

According to the Best Gyms Malta website, Micallef’s is “the country’s largest and fastest-growing gym franchise, offering a single gym membership that gives access to all our top-tier locations”.

Taking advantage of the government’s recent free gym scheme, Micallef is now planning to add two more gyms in Birgu and Marsa.

The €2 million Youth Fitness Support Scheme offers a six-month free gym membership to youths born between 2005 and 2007 and is also administered by Clifton Grima’s Ministry.