The Golden Age? T


BY DAVID MINTON


he future looks bright for the U.K. fitness market The U.K. fitness market has con-


tinued to grow over the past few years. The 2017 State of the U.K. Fitness Industry Report revealed that one in every seven people in the U.K. is a member of a gym–the most ever. In 2018, will the number of U.K.


gyms reach 7,000 for the first time? Will total membership exceed 10 mil- lion? Will market value surpass £5 bil- lion ($8.5 billion CDN)? The growth of the industry will only


be limited by the imagination of those pushing the boundaries. For instance, the Lanes Health Clubs, which opened in mid-2017, is a new health and well- being facility aimed at silver surfers. In terms of the mid-market, Bannatyne’s is testing new fitness concepts and new menus, while Nuffield Health recent- ly expanded its total number of sites (by acquiring 35 Virgin Active clubs in 2016). Franchise brands have had a good


year: Anytime Fitness has over 100 sites, and the énergie Group is amid a major rebrand, which will unite its mid-market and low-cost sub-brands. The group also plans to expand into a new boutique division. The premium market, with member-


ships over £100 ($170 CDN) per month, has been growing too. Third Space, for instance, has four clubs (including the largest club in Central London) and a boutique studio concept. The brand has plans to open two more sites in 2018. Equinox also has plans to open two more clubs, including a super lux- ury club in a former banking hall in St. James’s. The low-cost market has continued


to be the main driving force behind private sector growth. Collectively, there are over 500 low-cost clubs which account for 15 percent of the market value and an impressive 35 per- cent of membership in the private sec- tor. After a failed IPO, Pure Gym was


sold to LPG, a buyout fund based in Los Angeles; Pure Gym remains the U.K.’s largest low-cost fitness brand (by num- ber of sites). The Gym Group, anoth- er low-cost brand, remains the U.K.’s only publicly listed fitness company; in October it celebrated the opening of its 100th club. Meanwhile, the found- er of Xercise4Less, Jon Wright, won the IHRSA European Club Leadership Award at the 2017 European Congress for his efforts in trying to reverse the U.K.’s childhood obesity epidemic. Sports retail brands have grown the


fitness market in 2017. JD Sports has a low-cost brand, JD Gyms, with twelve sites open and three in the pipeline for 2018. DW Sports, a retailer aiming to revitalize the mid-market, acquired Fitness First in late 2016. Sports Direct, another retail giant, has 30 sites be- tween its Sports Direct Fitness and Everlast Fitness brands. Not all low-cost brands are under


£20 ($34 CDN) per month, and not all have profit as their main motive. A year ago, GLL, a social charitable en- terprise, acquired the low-cost opera- tor FitSpace to increase the number of standalone gyms under its Better Fitness brand. GLL’s intention is to pri- oritize social value over profit, aim- ing to increase participation through accessibility. It seems to be working as the GLL Better brand is the largest public-sector operator (by number of gyms). Additional charitable trusts are


growing the fitness and sports par- ticipation market, and public sector operators include the likes of Places for People Leisure, Everyone Active, Fusion Lifestyle, Serco and Freedom Leisure. It may be premature to call the peri-


od between 2018 and 2020 the “golden age of fitness,” but early signs suggest it just may be.


David Minton is director of LeisureDB. Contact him at www.goo.gl/Rhn0UY.


David Minton


“The low-cost market has continued to be the main driving force behind private sector growth.”


January/February 2018 Fitness Business Canada 31


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