UK GYMS – OVERVIEW
PUBLIC SECTOR
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GLL remains the leading UK public sector operator by number of gyms, with the trust operating 195 gyms (up from 191 in 2023). The organisation is also on-track to achieve the ambitious goals of its new five-year plan, says CEO Peter Bundey in an interview on page 111. “One goal is to achieve 275m customer visits over five years, and for our leisure centres alone we achieved 57m visits in 2023; if we add in culture and libraries, we’re comfortably on target. “Another goal is to achieve £2bn of social value over five years, and in 2023, our social value rose 8 per cent to £442m. So again, we’re well on track. “One of the keys to increasing usage is our growing number of partnerships with strategically important national organisations – the likes of Diabetes UK, Carers UK, Age UK and Alzheimer’s Society. We want to support people with health issues and restricted opportunity to exercise, and these organisations are already communicating with these audiences and trusted by them. I believe this is something for the whole sector to look at.” In second place is SLM (Everyone Active) – the UK’s top leisure management contractor by number of sites – which added 12 gyms in the 12 months to 31 March 2024, taking it to 175.
In the last 12 months, the top 10 operators gained 75,000 members and their combined value rose by £63m
In his interview on page 120, Jefford explains how Everyone Active’s turnover is growing not only through portfolio growth, but also through increasing yield, with a new wellness membership a key driver. There has, he says, also been “a broadening of what local authorities are looking to outsource”, and Everyone Active’s quick recovery from COVIDput it in a strong position to capitalise on this, giving it “a head-start” and “a real competitive edge”. He explains: “Typically, around 20 contracts a year might come out to bid on, but over the last year, not many of our competitors have actually been bidding much. Now it’s back to normal, with everyone bidding, but for 12 months we had a really good opportunity in terms of growth and new contracts – all off the back of recovering well from the pandemic.” No other public sector operators have more than 100 gyms. Between them, the top 10 public sector operators now manage 742 gyms – a number that has remained stable, dropping by just five gyms (from 747 in 2023). Meanwhile, in the last 12 months, the top 10 operators gained 75,000 members and their combined value rose by £63m.
2024 Catalog
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STATE OF THE UK FITNESS INDUSTRY REPORT 2024
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