CHARLOTTE, NC -- Peak Capital Holdings LLC, parent company of Peak Fitness clubs in North Carolina, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, according to multiple media outlets.

Court records show that Peak Capital Holdings owes as many as 200 creditors between $500,000 and $1 million, and that its assets are less than $50,000.

Laura Haid, the vice president of operations for Peak Fitness, said in a statement that Peak Capital Holdings is working with creditors to reorganize and that the company was affected by a challenging economy.

“During these tough economic times, we have to make sacrifices and difficult decisions to sustain our operations,” Haid said in the statement.

The Peak Fitness Web site lists 33 clubs in the Carolinas. Four of the 12 clubs in the Triangle region of North Carolina (anchored by Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill) are part of the bankruptcy reorganization, and other clubs in the Carolinas could follow, a company attorney said after last Thursday’s filing.

The rest of the Peak Fitness clubs, including about 12 in the Charlotte area, are owned by private holding companies. These clubs remain profitable and are not affected by the bankruptcy filing, Haid said. However, the attorney said the company is evaluating each of its clubs.

Lawsuits say a handful of Peak clubs owe the IRS more than $110,000 in taxes, and other claims involve contract disputes and money owed to electric companies, developers, a pool service company and more, the Raleigh News & Observer reports.

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