Press Release - 2019 State of the UK Fitness Industry Report
17th May 2019
The 2019 State of the UK Fitness Industry Report reveals that the UK health and fitness industry is healthier than it has ever been. It has more gyms, more members and a greater market value than ever before. Several key milestones have been achieved over the last 12 months. The total UK membership has broken the 10 million mark and the industry is now worth more than £5 billion for the first time. The elusive 15% penetration rate has not only been reached but exceeded with it now standing at 15.6%. In the UK, 1 in every 7 people is a member of a gym.
The 2019 report highlights that the industry, over the 12 month period to the end of March 2019, has seen increases of 2.9% in the number of fitness facilities, 4.7% in the number of members and 4.2% in market value. The rate of growth for members and market value is higher than last year across the public and private sectors. Has the private sector weathered the rise of the boutique studios? Has the public sector finally stabilised against the low-cost market?
Pure Gym and GLL remain the UK’s leading private and public operators (by number of gyms and members). In 2018, Pure Gym became the first operator to reach 200 clubs and this year they are joined by GLL (with 203 gyms).
Commenting on the figures, David Minton, Director of LeisureDB said: “As seen in the record-breaking figures from this report, the UK is enjoying a golden period of growth and exciting development across the fitness sector. It’s a great time to be working and reporting on the industry. As operators compete against the at-home fitness revolution, boutique studios and tech-enabled fitness, they must continue to provide more than just gyms; experiences are essential to hold customers attention. The last year has seen continued investment into ‘fitness-tainment’ and there is still plenty of opportunity for creativity and growth.”
Summary of Key Facts
The number of fitness facilities in the UK is up from 7,038 to 7,239 this year.
Total membership grew by 4.7% to 10.4 million.
Total market value increased by 4.2% to £5.1 billion.
The UK penetration rate passed 15% for the first time.
215 new fitness facilities opened in the last 12 months, down from 275 in 2018.
Notes
The State of the UK Fitness Industry Report is compiled from the most comprehensive review of the UK fitness industry, involving individual contact with all sites. The reporting period is the 12 months to 31st March 2019. The audit and resulting figures are compiled by independent leisure market analysts, LeisureDB, who have been monitoring the performance of the fitness industry for over 30 years. Further details of the report can be found here 2019 State of the UK Fitness Industry Report.
Further Information:
LeisureDB
LeisureDB (formerly The Leisure Database Company) is a leading independent database specialist that provides key market intelligence and analysis across the industry. Established over 30 years ago, the company works with a wide range of fitness operators, providing member profiling reports, new site analysis, latent demand estimates, statistics and data licenses.