Leisure 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.
The number of gyms and health clubs in the UK has broken the 7,000 mark. There are now 7,009 gyms across the country, combining to a total of 10.7 million gym members. The figures come from the State of the UK Fitness Industry Report 2024, which was unveiled by market intelligence expert, Leisure DB, at the Evolve conference held in London on 6 June.
Upward trends
Although the total number of gyms remains below the record high of 7,239 (in 2019), the figure is back over 7,000 after dipping below this milestone in 2023. Meanwhile, the number of gym members (10.7 million) marks a 4.1% increase in people taking up memberships since 2023.
The increase in membership numbers means that 15.9% of the UK population is now a member of a gym. This penetration figure is up from 15.1 per cent in 2023 and surpasses 2019’s pre-pandemic high of 15.6 per cent. The penetration rates differ from region to region, however, with Northern Ireland the lowest (11.3%) and Scotland the highest (16.5%), followed by England (16%) and Wales (14%).
The increases in both gyms and members have resulted in the estimated market value of the sector increasing by 9.7 per cent, to £5.9bn.
The report shows that both the private and public sectors are forging ahead, although the private sector has bounced back stronger. This can be seen in the way member numbers and penetration have risen in the public sector, but the number of public sector gyms has fallen in the past year. The growth in market value has also been considerably larger in the private sector (10.9%) than for the public sector (6.2%).
All key metrics are showing positive growth
Private sector
In the private sector, PureGym remains the UK’s leading operator by number of clubs and number of members. It added 34 locations in the 12 months since March 2023 and now operates 379 clubs.
It remains the only operator to have more than 1 million members (over 1.5 million in the UK). PureGym’s pipeline suggests it will reach the 400-club mark in the UK over the next 12 months.
PureGym is followed by The Gym Group as the second-largest private sector operator. It added net four clubs to take it to 234 sites – and around 900,000 members – in the 12 months ending 31 March 2024. Joining these two low-cost chains
are three other private sector operators with more than 100 clubs: Anytime Fitness, Nuffield Fitness & Wellbeing, and David Lloyd Clubs. There are also five operators with 50–100 clubs: Snap Fitness, JD Gyms, Bannatyne, Sports Direct Fitness and énergie Fitness.
“There’s positive news from the UK’s private fitness sector, as data for the 12 months ending 31 March 2024 show club numbers stabilising back to pre-pandemic levels,” the report states. “There’s also been continued growth across the key metrics of member numbers, market value and penetration rate, with all three now surpassing their 2019 highs; last year, it was only market value that had surpassed pre-pandemic levels, driven by increased yield per member.
“Across the UK, there are now 4,513 private health and fitness clubs, up from 4,460 in 2023 – a growth of +1.2%. The number of members has also increased, reaching over 7.3 million (+5.1%), while market value has reached almost £4.5bn (+10.9%).
“Private sector penetration has also reached an all-time high, up from 10.2% in 2023 to 10.9% in 2024. (The previous high, in 2019, was 10.5%.) These figures represent an increase of over 355,000 members and an increase of over £440m in revenues since our 2023 report, supported by a continued rise in average fees – up more than 5 per cent over the 12 months to 31 March 2024 – to £47.24.”
While private sector growth continues to be driven by the low-cost segment, it is a less significant factor this year: of the 120 new clubs that opened in the last 12 months, only 45 (37.5%) were low-cost. In the previous year, low-cost accounted for 80 of 145 new openings (55%).
Although total low-cost club numbers are up by just 2.6% in this year’s report, the two other key metrics – members and value – continue to show good growth. Membership numbers within this market segment reached an all-time high, passing the 3 million mark for the first time (up from 2.85 million in 2023). This represents 41% of the total private sector membership, equivalent to almost 4.5% of the UK population.
Public sector
The last 12 months have been a positive period for the UK’s public fitness sector as it continues to bounce back following the pandemic – although the growth has been slower than in the private sector. During the 12 months to 31 March, there was growth in three key metrics: member numbers, market value and penetration rate. The number of gyms, however, fell during the period. There are now 2,496 public sector gyms in the UK – down 1.7% from 2,538 in 2023 – but member numbers are up 1.9% to 3.36 million (from 3.3 million in 2023) and penetration has reached 5% (up from 4.9% in 2023). Both metrics remain below their previous highs – 3.38 million members (in 2019) and 5.2% penetration (in 2014–16) – but both continue to move in the right direction. Meanwhile, the value of the public sector has reached an all-time high, hitting £1.44bn in 2024 – an increase of £84m, or 6.2%, since 2023.
Of the UK’s 2,496 public sector gyms, 46% are managed by a trust. Broken down by country, this translates to 43% of public sector facilities in England, 22% in Northern Ireland, 49% in Wales and a significant 65% in Scotland being managed by a trust. Meanwhile, across the UK, 20% of public sector gyms are under in-house local authority management; 14% are managed by an educational establishment; and just 9% by a leisure management contractor (LMC).
GLL remains the leading public sector operator by number of gyms with 195 gyms (up from 191 in 2023). In second place is SLM (Everyone Active) – the UK’s top management contractor by number of sites – which added 12 gyms to reach 175.
Insights
Commenting on the findings of the report, David Minton, founder of Leisure DB, said: “This annual report, established for almost 20 years as the industry bible, has been used by operators, suppliers, financiers, media and politicians to evidence the key metrics and hundreds of data points of the industry.
“The data comes from Leisure DB’s relational database, which uniquely audits fitness sites across the UK, whether available to the public via membership or pay and play. The database is updated daily by a team of researchers, with many thousands of phone calls made to sites each year. A growing number of brands also self-report. Our intelligent audit uses bots and other digital sources to monitor changes, while a growing number of ambassadors report on site visits.
“This detailed supply data is complemented by demand data at the most granular level allowed: the geo-demographic profiles of millions of monthly direct debit members.”
For the first time ever, the State of the UK Fitness Industry Report 2024 will be free to read online.
You can do so by registering here: www.leisuredb.com/publications