OPENINGS & CLOSURES
POOL FACILITIES
PRIVATE SECTOR
PRIVATE SECTOR
Our audit is based on private sector gyms that also have a pool; in many cases the membership is a combined one, with little to no specific pool usage data. Yet for the operators that include pools within their offering, these are seen to be valuable assets and an important USP. “Our pools remain a significant factor in people’s decision to choose our clubs, especially with the rapid disappearance of pool space across the UK,” confirms Nuffield Health’s Emma Kuwertz-Norman in her interview on page 96. Poolside facilities are also a growing consideration for many. On page 86, Mosaic Group founder Dave Courteen explains how: “More and more, we’re seeing people use our pools to simply relax, whether they’re our members, hotel or day spa guests. “As a result, we’re developing even more hot and cold therapy spaces around them: vitality pools, hydrotherapy pools, saunas, salt rooms, volcano saunas, steam rooms, snow-sky experiences and so on.” Courteen adds: “It all ties in with a broader shift in member behaviour. After COVID, our members told
us it was the social aspect they had missed the most – the mental wellbeing benefits of being around others at the club. And now, more than ever before, people come to the club to socialise.
Openings & closures: Private clubs with a pool, 2010 – 2025
50
50
Closures
Openings
45
More than ever before, people come to the club to socialise. Our pool areas increasingly reflect that.
41
40
30
28
25
“Our pool areas increasingly reflect this with lots of recliners, decking and popular outdoor spa gardens. Our pool areas aren’t just for swimming any more. People might spend an hour and a half here, even two hours, but they’re probably only in the water for half that time. “We aren’t the only ones doing this, either. If you look at the newer David Lloyd clubs, for example, there’s significant effort going into creating social spa spaces around the swimming pool.”
20
20
16
16
15
14
13
13
10
7
17
10
14
7
6
11
7
8
7
7
4
4
6
7
2
2
0
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
If a club is taken over by another operator, this is not counted as a closure or a new opening. Closures not recorded pre-2013.
Note for the reader: As outlined previously, when comparing year-on-year stats, you may notice a discrepancy between total pool numbers versus what one might assume from reported closures and openings. For a briefing on why this is the case, please see page 45.
Across the UK’s private health club sector, seven brand new clubs opened with a swimming pool, while 13 clubs – with 13 pools between them – closed. This year’s net loss of six private sector clubs with pools compares to net losses of 19 in 2024, 14 in 2023 and 16 in 2022.
Facility breakdown
Swimming pool Gym Sauna Steam room Spa pool Studio Cycle studio Sunbed Squash Golf Indoor tennis Sports hall
100% 100%
93%
92%
73%
70%
51%
19%
PRIVATE CLUBS WITH SWIMMING POOL OPENINGS +7
13%
11%
9%
6%
PRIVATE CLUBS WITH SWIMMING POOL CLOSURES -13
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
92
93
STATE OF THE UK FITNESS INDUSTRY REPORT 2023 STATE OF THE UK SWIMMING INDUSTRY REPORT 2025
STATE OF THE UK FITNESS INDUSTRY REPORT 2023
92
93
STATE OF THE UK SWIMMING INDUSTRY REPORT 2025
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