60 Second UK Fitness News - 6th May 2016

In this week’s 60 second news; more news from the Fitness First sale as Bannatyne’s has announced an interest in some sites. Bannatyne’s doubled its profits last year after refurbishing half their clubs which helped boost member numbers. The chain has acknowledged that the market is polarising and has focused on being a luxury health club.

When ClassPass first landed in the UK it all appeared too good to be true and unfortunately it is. Class Pass has announced this week that it will be upping its prices from £79 to £110. After disputes with some of the more premium offerings available to ClassPass user, which appeared to have been settled, ClassPass is now having to hit the pockets of its customers. 

Here are LeisureDB we’ve managed to get our hands on a Skulpt Chisel. Available for $99 the Skulpt chisel measures your muscle quality and fat percentage. It’s based around the theory of tracking results not activity. Keep an eye on our blog for a review of the product.  

Lastly, it has been reported by Statista that health and fitness apps are now in the top 10 in the app store beating music, sports and social networking. David, our director has spoken about the rise of brands going from CES to IHRSA this year, and these stats show the ever increasing presence of the digital market in our industry. To read David’s roving report for IHRSA head to theleisurereview.co.uk  

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FT Article - Pay-as-you-go gyms increase in popularity over longer contracts

Interesting article in the FT yesterday looking at the rising popularity of pay-as-you-go gyms in the UK containing the following quote from David.

“New technology puts the power into the users’ hands,” says David Minton, director at The Leisure Database Company. “We just haven’t been in that position before and what we are finding is that the consumers love it.”