STATE OF PLAY

The latest State of the UK Fitness Industry Report shows that the sector is in a “period of strong growth”. The report was published at Leisure DB’s annual EVOLVE conference in London

More than 200 industry professionals gathered at London’s Porchester Hall on 5 June for the half-day EVOLVE event. Organised by Leisure DB, the afternoon featured keynotes and panel discussions, but the main number was the publication of the annual State of the UK Fitness Industry Report – which has for years been the benchmark report on the sector.

Growing in strength

According to the report, the UK fitness industry saw “strong growth” across all key performance metrics during the year to 31 March 2025. The number of gyms and health clubs in the UK increased by 2.8 per cent to 7,202 – a figure that falls only slightly short of the pre-pandemic high of 7,239 gyms recorded in 2019.

The sector also experienced growth in three other key areas, setting new records in membership numbers, market value and penetration. Across the UK, there are now 11.3 million gym members (an increase of 5.4 per cent compared to 2024), which means that 16.6 per cent of the UK population is now a member of a gym (up from 15.9 per cent in 2024). Meanwhile, market value has reached £6.5bn, an increase of 9.3 per cent on 2024.

Private businesses

According to the report, the overall industry growth is driven by the private sector, which continues to perform strongly, with growth in gym count, member numbers, market value and penetration.

The report estimates the market value of the private sector as £4.91bn, an increase of £423m (or +9.4%) on the year before. There are now 4,727 private health and fitness clubs across the UK, up from 4,513 clubs in 2024 – a rise of +4.7%.

Membership at privately owned clubs reached almost 7.8 million – an increase of 427,000 members (+5.8%) over the course of the 12 months. This is supported by a continued rise in average fee, which now sits at £48.45 – an increase of +2.6% in the 12 months to 31 March 2025, compared to over 5% in the 12 months to 31 March 2024.

Private sector penetration has also reached a new all-time high, up from 10.9% in 2024 to 11.4% in 2025.

In the report, Leisure DB states: “This year’s record doesn’t just refl ect recovery. It signals a new era of opportunity for gyms across the country and follows steady growth over the past two years – rising above 10% in 2023 and hitting 10.9% in 2024 – as the sector continues to recover and accelerate beyond its pre-pandemic levels.”

P RIVATE SECTOR FIGURES

2023

145

CLUBS OPENED ■ 68% top 10 operators ■ 55% low-cost operators ■ 17% independents ■ 342k members ■ £118m market value

139

CLUBS CLOSED ■ 25% top 10 operators ■ 10% low-cost operators ■ 59% independents ■ 134k members ■ £45m market value

2024

120

CLUBS OPENED ■ 54% top 10 operators ■ 38% low-cost operators ■ 20% independents ■ 276k members ■ £134m market value

129

CLUBS CLOSED ■ 25% top 10 operators ■ 2% low-cost operators ■ 53% independents ■ 128k members ■ £64m market value

2025

155

CLUBS OPENED ■ 49% top 10 operators ■ 41% low-cost operators ■ 30% independents ■ 267k members ■ £142m market value

93

CLUBS CLOSED ■ 22% top 10 operators ■ 5% low-cost operators ■ 59% independents ■ 83k members ■ £39m market value

Regional breakdown Region East Midlands Eastern London North East North West Northern Ireland Scotland South East South West Wales West Midlands Yorkshire & Humber 393

Clubs Members Average fee 338 465 610 195 543 108 340 644 451 214 426 607k

480k 702k 1.35m 282k 970k 117k 580k 1.08m 600k 302k 694k

£39.21 £47.01 £76.26 £38.30 £40.59 £35.79 £45.33 £57.51 £45.40 £41.86 £40.53 £37.80

35%

of private clubs open 24/7

2%

84%

of the total UK population live within two miles of a private health club

Want to know where your gym members come from? Why not ask Leisure DB?

PureGym remains the UK’s leading private sector operator by both number of clubs and number of members. With a net gain of 43 clubs in the past year, it now operates 422 clubs nationwide.

The Gym Group follows with 244 clubs, having added 10 new locations over the same period. There are three other private sector operators with more than 100 clubs: Anytime Fitness, Nuffield Health and David Lloyd Clubs.

A further fi ve brands each operate between 50 and 100 sites: Snap Fitness, JD Gyms, The Bannatyne Group, Everlast Gyms and énergie Fitness.

These brands make up the top 10 private sector operators in the UK and between them operate 1,429 clubs – up from 1,365 in 2024 (a net gain of 64). Collectively, these leading brands have added more than 230,000 members over the past 12 months and boosted their combined market value by £315m to reach £2.9bn.

Low cost, high gain

The budget gym sector is still growing strong. Membership in the low-cost segment has now reached 3.2 million – 41% of all private sector members and 4.7% of the total UK population. Average fees in the low-cost sector also rose above £25 for the fi rst time in 2024.

As a result, the market value in the budget segment is also up signifi cantly, from £888m in 2024 to £986m. Leisure DB predicts that, as a result of the ongoing growth, the £1bn market value threshold “should be easily surpassed in 2026”.

Going public

While less pronounced, the public sector has also seen an uptick since the 2024 report. The number of public gyms has declined slightly over the last 12 months, but there has been positive movement across other key metrics, with market value and membership reaching all-time highs. Public sector penetration has also returned to its previous peak of 5.2 per cent, last recorded in 2016.

There are now 2,475 public sector gyms across the UK – down 0.8% from 2,496 in 2024. Despite this drop, member numbers have increased by 4.5%, rising from 3.36 million to 3.51 million. The public sector’s total market value also surpassed the £1.5bn milestone for the fi rst time, reaching £1.56bn – a year-on-year rise of £126m (8.8%).

Meanwhile, public sector penetration climbed to 5.2% in 2025, up from 5% the previous year. This matches the highest rate on record, previously seen between 2014 and 2016, and hints at the possibility of a new all-time high by the next audit.

Of the UK’s 2,475 public sector gyms, 45% are managed by a trust. Regionally, this model is most prominent in Scotland, where 64% of gyms are trust-managed. Wales follows with 47%, England with 42% and Northern Ireland with 21%.

Meanwhile, across the UK, local authority in-house management accounts for 21% of public sector gyms; educational establishments manage 14% of sites; and leisure management contractors (LMCs) operate 9%. GLL remains the UK’s largest public sector operator by number of sites, with the trust running 191 gyms – down from 195 last year. Everyone Active, the UK’s leading leisure management contractor by number of sites, ranks second with 172 gyms (down three from 2024). No other public sector operators have more than 100 gyms.

Between them, the top 10 public sector operators manage 745 gyms – up slightly from 742 in 2024. Over the 12 months to 31 March 2025, these operators added almost 100,000 members and saw their combined market value rise by £88m. In the report, Leisure DB states that behind these statistics is a “number of significant changes afoot in the sector”, from the impact of a new agency modelto devolution and local government review (LGR). These are discussed in more detail in the report’s “interview” section, where operators are offered the opportunity to share their insights on the sector.

One of these is Alliance Leisure’s Tom Fairey, who discusses the urgency of the agenda created by devolution and LGR. “For the individual local authorities set to join combined authorities, it’s being spoken about as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to undertake developments and regeneration projects,” Fairey says.

“And so there’s an urgency to deliver schemes now. The impact for us as a business is that in the short term, there may be opportunities for quick wins.”

PUBLIC SECTOR FIGURES

Regional breakdown Region East Midlands Eastern London North East North West Northern Ireland Scotland South East South West Wales West Midlands Yorkshire & Humber 163

Clubs Members Average fee 168 204 247 117 251 80 342 314 234 171 184 265k

250k 310k 469k 171k 350k 121k 377k 511k 277k 159k 254k

£32.58 £35.16 £39.33 £29.81 £30.72 £29.90 £29.24 £37.77 £34.37 £33.56 £30.30 £30.13

82.5%

of the total UK population live within two miles of a public gym

Want to know where your gym members come from? Why not ask Leisure DB?

Leisure DB

Leisure DB is the leading independent data specialist in the UK leisure sector, providing robust market intelligence and analysis across the full scope of an increasingly diverse industry. In addition to the annual report, Leisure DB provides a number of reports and insight reports. These include the Monthly Market Tracker, which reports changes in the fi tness sector as they happen. By combining artifi cial intelligence, machine learning and human insight, it monitors all openings, closures and brand changes across the sector, making it the only daily tracker of its kind. [www.leisuredb.com/market-tracker](http://www.leisuredb.com/market-tracker)

A new era

Speaking at the EVOLVE event, Leisure DB founder, David Minton, said: “It gives me the greatest pleasure to read this report and see the key industry metrics reaching an all-time high. The growth in member numbers, market value, and penetration has exceeded that of any previous year. “These findings signal a new era for the fitness industry.”

Detailed statistics and analysis can be found in the full State of the UK Fitness Industry Report 2025, which is available to read – for free – [at www.leisuredb.com/publications](http://www.leisuredb.com/publications)