LOW-COST CLUBS
PRIVATE SECTOR
■ Not all key metrics have improved: The low-cost market continues to grow, but total low-cost club numbers are down from 741 in 2022 to 724 in 2023 – a drop of 2.3% and the first fall since this market segment emerged in 2011. ■ Price rises push players out: Importantly, this fall in club numbers is the result of three brands – Active Fitness, énergie Fitness and TruGym – dropping out of the low-cost sector altogether, their clubs no longer charging under £25 a month on average. In 2022, these brands operated four, 77 and 11 low-cost clubs respectively. ■ Market value and members are up: Despite the drop in club numbers, low-cost market value and member numbers have seen positive growth. Market value is up 10.7% to over £782 m (from £707 m in 2022) while member numbers have risen 3.9% to reach 2.85 million (up from 2.74 million). Average membership per club has risen from c.3,700 to over 3,900 since 2022. ■ Penetration is bouncing back: Pre-Covid-19, 4.2% of the UK population were members of a low-cost private club. This dropped to 4% in 2022, but in 2023 it’s back to pre-Covid-19 levels (4.2%). ■ Market leaders continue to grow: PureGym remains the leading low-cost operator, having added 45 gyms since 2022 (opened 49, closed four). It is followed by The Gym Group in second place with 230 clubs (+26 clubs: opened 24, closed two, rebranded four – including the three Fitness First clubs it acquired in early 2022, only rebranded to low-cost in the last year). ■ Two chains dominate: The two leading operators, PureGym and The Gym Group, operate more than three-quarters (79%) of all low-cost clubs in the UK (up from 68% in 2022). Between them, they have over 2.25 million members (up from 2 million in 2022). The top 10 low-cost chains operate 97% of all low-cost clubs. ■ A new entrant in the top three: JD Gyms breaks into the top three for the first time with 79 clubs, as incumbent énergie Fitness drops out of the low-cost sector. ■ Average prices rise: For the first time, the average low-cost monthly fee has surpassed £23, while over two-thirds of all UK low-cost clubs (69%) now charge more than £20 a month (up from 54% in 2022). Low-cost clubs in London charge almost a third more on average (£28.58) than low-cost clubs outside London (£21.66).
Top 3 Low-Cost Operators: 2015 - 23
350
2023
*
2022
2019
300
2018
2017
2016
250
2015
200
150
100
50
0
PureGym The Gym Group
JD Gyms
*2022 figures include openings in 2020 and 2021.
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STATE OF THE UK FITNESS INDUSTRY REPORT 2023
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