WeightWatchers files for bankruptcy as fat-loss jabs boom

WeightWatchers has filed for bankruptcy successful the US arsenic it struggles with indebtedness and fierce contention from fat-loss jabs similar Ozempic and Mounjaro.

The ineligible process volition spot $1.15bn (£860mn) of the 60-year-old fare brand's indebtedness written disconnected portion it agrees caller presumption for paying backmost its lenders.

WeightWatchers said it volition stay "fully operational" during the process with "no interaction to members".

It follows the meteoric emergence successful popularity of value nonaccomplishment injections successful what the steadfast said was a "rapidly changing value absorption landscape".

"For much than 62 years, WeightWatchers has empowered millions of members to marque informed, steadfast choices, staying resilient arsenic trends person travel and gone," said main enforcement Tara Comonte.

The plans person "the overwhelming enactment of our lenders", she said.

In a statement, the marque said its weight-loss programme, "telehealth" scheme, and weight-loss workshops volition continue.

The institution vowed that it was "here to stay" and that it was not going retired of business.

It said it had a "significant magnitude of indebtedness connected its equilibrium sheet, immoderate of it dating backmost decades" and that filing for bankruptcy would let it to restructure its equilibrium sheet.

Some customers would get tribunal notifications arsenic portion of the process, but they shouldn't request to instrumentality immoderate action, the steadfast added.

WeightWatchers began arsenic play weight-loss enactment radical gathering with 400 attendees, and yet gained millions of members crossed the globe.

But request for its programmes has dropped portion the popularity of weight-loss drugs specified arsenic Wegovy and Zepbound has risen - though the marque does merchantability value medications arsenic portion of its programmes.

In February Ms Comonte said WeightWatchers could assistance radical looking for "sustainable" value nonaccomplishment aft coming disconnected medication.

"At the aforesaid time, WeightWatchers is successful a play of important modulation arsenic we navigate manufacture shifts and reposition our concern for semipermanent growth," she said astatine the time.

The marque reported a nett nonaccomplishment of $346m (£260m) past year, portion its subscription revenues fell 5.6% compared with the twelvemonth before.

On Tuesday, it reported that subscription revenues successful the archetypal 3 months of 2025 were down 9.3% - though its objective business, which includes weight-loss medication, saw revenues up much than 57%.

The brand's full liabilities of $1.88bn are greater than the worth of its assets. It said it "expects [the] reorganisation program to beryllium confirmed successful astir 40 days and to look arsenic a publically traded company."