Blog
News, views and adventures from The Leisure Database Company team.
FreeFlow, held on 5 September at London Aquatics Centre, provided a platform to explore the future of swimming and aquatics within the fitness and leisure sector. The event also had a strong emphasis on sustainability, technology, and inclusivity.
Co-hosted by Leisure DB, Hutchi, and Everyone Active, FreeFlow brought together the UK’s swimming and pool industry, showcasing discussions, presentations, and networking opportunities.
Read MoreLeisure DB’s State of the UK Swimming Industry Report 2024, published on 1 August, shows that demand for swimming remains high, but there are fewer pools to meet that demand.
The UK’s swimming pool stock continues to shrink, with the number of public and private facilities with pools decreasing by 2% in the 12 months to 31 March 2024. In total, there were 4,272 swimming pools on 31 March 2024 – compared to 4,351 the year before.
Read MoreLeisure DB’s State of the UK Fitness Industry Report 2024 shows that the UK health and fitness industry is performing strongly in the aftermath of the pandemic. SportsNation looks at some of the highlights of the report, which this year has been made free to download for the very first time.
Read MoreWe are pleased to share the progress we have made since the relaunch of DoingOurBit last month to the NHS and Social Care providers.
We have already engaged with over 30 NHS Trusts including Manchester University NHS Foundation, Cardiff and Vale University Hospital and University Hospital Bristol and Weston, means we are well on our way to our target of 200 by Summer this year.
Read MoreDo you truly understand which types of consumer your fitness facility appeals to, and how well you’ve penetrated the relevant audiences in a realistic catchment area? Step forward Leisure DB’s member analysis reports...
Understanding who your members are and where they live – i.e. how far they’re travelling to reach your site – is a vital first step in achieving maximum bang for every marketing buck.
Read MoreThe State of the UK Swimming Industry Report 2023 isn’t just about data, says Leisure DB founder David Minton. It’s rich with interviews and insight.
Most people will be well aware of the perilous state of the UK’s swimming pool stock. If not, Google ‘swimming pool closures UK’ and you’ll be brought up to date with a rather depressing bang. But is it all bad news, or are there glimmers of hope and best practice from which we can all learn?
Read MoreThe language we speak influences the way we think – and the way people think about us. David Minton, founder of Leisure DB, offers his thoughts on how our sector must reinvent its language to better engage with consumers and government
Does the language we speak shape the way we think? This is a question often debated by linguists. My own perception, informed by regular visits to Japan, is that it absolutely does.
Read MoreBehind every one of our latent demand calculations sits comparable data on 7,000 UK fitness sites, profiles of millions of members, 450+ Mosaic data variables and 20+ years of experience. It all comes together to provide highly accurate estimates. Here’s how it works.
Read MoreMore members and record market value, Leisure DB’s David Minton discusses this year’s State of the UK Fitness Industry Report.
The UK has slightly fewer gyms (0.9%) in 2023 than in 2022, but member numbers are up 3.9% and market value is the highest we’ve observed. These are some of the key findings from our State of the UK Fitness Industry Report 2023.
Read MoreThrough the EVOLVE movement, Leisure DB aims to catalyse conversation, collaboration and change across the UK’s physical activity sector. COO Heidi Blackburn speaks to Kate Cracknell.
EVOLVE is a movement for industry transformation that was conceived by Leisure DB and Pocket Rocket in 2021, with ActiveIQ, Willmott Dixon and Taylor Wessing also coming onboard as partners to help us launch it that same year.
Read MoreWe are super proud to announce that we have become a supporting partner of 'Doing Our Bit'!
You may already be aware of the fantastic preventative health movement Doing Our Bit that began during lockdown to offer all NHS and Social Care staff free, on-demand fitness & wellness sessions, provided by fully qualified PTs and instructors.
Read MoreThe Escape Your Limits podcast, invited our very own David Minton, Founder of Leisure DB, and leading specialist in the leisure sector, to offer key market intelligence and analysis across the fitness industry.
Read MoreNumber of gyms is down, members and revenues are up; Leisure DB releases the State of the UK Fitness Industry Report 2023
The UK has fewer gyms in 2023 than in 2022, but member numbers are up and market value has reached an all-time high.
Read MoreIn light of more people being authentic about their gender identity, how should the health and fitness sector respond?
Reports by David Minton, Founder of Leisure DB
Sociologists make a distinction between sex and gender. Sex is based on a ridged idea of biological traits that societies use to assign people into either male or female. Gender is more fluid and is determined by what an individual feels and does.
Read MoreThe Power of Data: How Fitness Business Owners Can Save Time and Money with Informed Decisions
The Benefits of Using Data to Guide Your Fitness Business Strategy
From Trends to Insights: How Data Can Help You Stay Ahead in the Fitness Industry
Making Data-Driven Decisions: The Key to Success in the Competitive Fitness Landscape
The Future of Fitness: Why Data is the Foundation for Growth and Innovation
David Minton shares his thoughts on how to tackle 2023
Let me start with two opportunities which excite me, could transform the sector in 2023 and help it double in size. These are opportunities which a growing number of operators and influencers within the industry are getting behind.
Read MoreIn my lifetime, America has had a number of ‘health of the nation’ scares. The AIDS epidemic in the 80s and 90s, more recently the crisis with opioid dependency and the obesity epidemic. The combination of the physical and mental impact of being overweight can be seen on sidewalks in every town and city across America.
Read MoreIn 2019 there were over 14.3 million Baby Boomers in the UK, making it the largest generational group. Boomers – people born between 1946-1964 in 2021 – are currently aged 57 to 75. Boomers don’t want to get old. I’m a boomer, I should know. That’s my first qualification to write this article.
Read MoreI’ve commented many times on how trend data from the Leisure Database shows the industry to have been recession-proof during 1980/81 and 1990/91 and also the crash of 2008/09.
However, our reseach has found that the first global pandemic in our lifetime has dwarfed any recession. Results from our 2022 full audit of Direct Debit members of our entire database of 7,000-plus sites shows this part of the industry overall has already bounced back to somewhere between 2018 and 2019, but as always, the devil is in the detail.
Read MoreThat’s right – you heard it here first! Throughout January & February, we have our team of experienced researchers contacting all UK leisure venues seeking to validate & update the existing data already held.
We are unique as we’re the only company, worldwide, that audits the whole industry. We are in touch with around 7,000 sites annually at least once, confirming, collecting and updating the information.
Read MoreWe seek to maximise your business potential in the leisure market. Providing the best market data, the best site and customer analysis and the best advice to develop your customer potential.
The Leisure Database Company | Willowcroft, Brasted Chart, Westerham, Kent, TN16 1LX, England
