UK PRIVATE CLUBS
PRIVATE SECTOR
OVERVIEW PRIVATE CLUBS
After a tough three years since Covid-19’s crash landing, the last 12 months have brought more positive news for and from the UK’s private fitness sector. We’ve seen a stabilisation in the number of clubs as well as positive growth across all three key metrics: members, market value and penetration rate. The number of clubs and the penetration rate remain below the highs of 2019, but member numbers are now close to pre-Covid-19 levels and market value has reached an all-time high. Across the UK, there are now 4,460 private clubs, up from 4,456 in 2022 – a growth of 0.1% in the 12 months to the end of March 2023. The number of members has also increased, reaching almost 7 million (+4.4%), while market value has passed the £4bn mark for the first time. This represents an increase of over £500m (+14.4%) since our 2022 report. The penetration rate has also bounced back from its Covid-induced fall – the private sector’s first in 10 years. Up from 9.9% in 2022 to 10.2% in 2023, it remains below 2019’s high (10.5%) but is certainly moving in the right direction. PureGym remains the leading private sector operator in the UK, by number of clubs and number of members. Adding 45 locations since our 2022 report, it now operates 345 clubs in the UK and remains the only operator to have more than 1 million members (around 1.4 million). It is followed by The Gym Group, which added 23 clubs to take it to 230 sites and almost 900,000 members. Joining these two low-cost chains are three other private sector operators with more than 100 clubs: Anytime Fitness, Nuffield Fitness & Wellbeing, and David Lloyd Clubs, the latter having passed the 100-club mark for the first time in the last 12 months. There are also five operators with 50–100 clubs: Snap Fitness, JD Gyms, Bannatyne, Sports Direct Fitness and énergie Fitness (see page 29). In total, 1,328 clubs are now managed by the top 10 operators, up from 1,263 (+65 clubs) since 2022. In the process, over the last 12 months, this leading cohort has gained almost 300,000 members and grown its market value by £415m; member numbers and market value are now both higher than pre-Covid-19. The top 10 brands opened 98 brand new clubs in the last 12 months (up from 75 in the previous year), with almost three-quarters of these operated by PureGym and The Gym Group. In the same period, the top 10 closed 35 clubs (up from 14 in 2022). The private sector continues to be driven by the ever-expanding low-cost segment, which operates 80 of the 145 new clubs that opened in the last 12 months. However, total low-cost private club numbers are down (from 741 to 724) as Active Fitness, énergie Fitness and TruGym have all dropped out of this segment altogether; these operators no longer charge under £25, on average, at their clubs. Despite the fall in total number of low-cost clubs, membership numbers within this market segment have increased from 2.74 million to 2.85 million since 2022. This represents 41% of the total private membership, equivalent to over 4% of the UK population. The three largest franchise operators – Anytime Fitness, énergie Fitness and Snap Fitness – now have 327 clubs between them, down from 331 in 2022. Combined membership across the three operators remains at a similar level to 2022.
Private Clubs
4,460
Members
6.98 m
Market Value
£4.04 bn
Average Fee
£44.92
Penetration Rate
10.2 %
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STATE OF THE UK FITNESS INDUSTRY REPORT 2023
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