Written by RA10 from a question-by-question analysis of the AQA 7132 papers 2020-2025 and the v2.0 specification. This is not an official AQA paper and does not contain real exam questions.
PeakFit Gyms plc runs 160 budget gyms across the UK. Members pay a low monthly fee, there are no contracts, and the gyms are open 24 hours a day with very few staff. The UK budget gym market has grown quickly but is very competitive, with three large chains and many independent gyms.
Building a new gym costs around £1.5m, but empty buildings in town centres have become cheaper to rent. Members can switch gyms easily, and many now use free fitness apps and online classes at home.
PeakFit is considering launching a premium brand, 'PeakFit Plus', with higher fees, personal trainers and spa facilities, in 20 of its largest gyms.
| 2023 | 2024 | |
|---|---|---|
| Members (year end) | 412,000 | 468,000 |
| Current assets (£m) | 9.6 | |
| Current liabilities (£m) | 16.0 | |
| Average monthly fee | £22.99 | £23.99 |
| PureGym | The Gym Group | PeakFit | Other budget chains | Mid-market and premium chains | Independent gyms |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18 | 14 | 7.2 | 9 | 21 | 30.8 |
| Question | Agree (%) |
|---|---|
| I would pay £15 more a month for personal training and spa access | 21 |
| Price is the main reason I chose PeakFit | 68 |
| I have used a free fitness app in the last month | 57 |
Stratified sample of 3 000 members by age group and region.
Lumen Ltd designs and makes energy-efficient LED lighting for offices, schools and hospitals. It was set up by two engineers 15 years ago and now employs 340 people in Cambridge.
Lumen's success is based on innovation. It holds 26 patents and spends heavily on research and development (R&D). Each year it benchmarks its products against those of larger competitors from Germany and Japan.
Lumen encourages intrapreneurship: engineers can spend 10% of their working time on their own projects, and the best ideas receive funding. Two of its best-selling products started this way. However, some managers argue the scheme distracts engineers from urgent customer orders.
| Revenue | £52m |
|---|---|
| R&D spending | £3.9m |
| Number of patents held | 26 |
| Revenue from products launched in last 3 years | 41% |
Riverside Brewery Ltd is a craft brewery in Devon owned by the Holt family. It sells beer to local pubs and through its own website. Demand is growing, but the brewery is operating at full capacity.
To expand, it needs £2m for new brewing equipment and a bigger warehouse. The bank has offered a five-year loan. A family member suggested crowd funding instead, offering investors shares in the business plus discounts on beer. Several craft breweries have raised money this way.
One director has also suggested converting to a public limited company in the longer term, but the founder, Sam Holt, is worried that the brewery's mission - 'local ingredients, brewed slowly' - would suffer.
| Non-current liabilities | 1.8 |
|---|---|
| Total equity | 4.2 |