THE SHAPE OF SUPPLY
Format Shift: What Types of Facilities Are Opening
WET VS DRY ESTATE MIX
DRY
WET
%
%
TOTAL SITES 7,463
Recent development patterns highlight a clear shift in the types of facilities entering and leaving the market. While wet leisure sites still account for over a third of the overall estate, new supply is now overwhelmingly concentrated in dry, gym-focussed formats. This shift re ects underlying cost and operational dynamics. Dry facilities are typically faster to deliver, require lower capital investment and offer more exible operating models. In contrast, wet sites are more resource-intensive, with higher build and maintenance costs, making them signi cantly less attractive for new development in the current environment. The divergence becomes particularly clear when comparing openings and closures. Wet facilities account for only a small fraction of new openings, yet represent a disproportionately larger share of closures. This indicates that older, higher-cost assets are increasingly exposed to competitive and nancial pressure. Taken together, this points to a structural shift in how tness is delivered. The market is steadily moving toward more ef cient, lower-cost models, with implications for access, facility mix and the long-term shape of the leisure landscape.
WET VS DRY OPENINGS VS CLOSURES
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.%
.%
.%
Openings
Closures
64
STATE OF THE UK FITNESS INDUSTRY REPORT 2026
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