New report revealsuk gyms are “leaving millions on the gym floor”

A major new industry report from YOUR Personal Training (YPT) has revealed that the UK fitness sector is systematically underperforming in one of its most valuable commercial areas, Personal Training, costing tens of millions of pounds of unrealised value every year.

Titled “The Million Pound PT Problem”, the report draws on 16 years of operational data from more than 400 UK gyms and uncovers a persistent gap between average and well-run clubs that YPT says represents one of the industry’s biggest hidden revenue leaks. Average PT penetration across UK gyms remains just 1-2%, while high-performing clubs consistently achieve 4-5%.

Even small improvements in this figure have a dramatic commercial impact, with every additional 1% of PT penetration worth around £136,800 per year per 20,000 members. At a national level, YPT estimates this underperformance equates to more than £30 million in lost revenue and retention value for large operators.

The report challenges the idea that PT performance is a sales issue, instead positioning it as a systemic management failure. According to YPT, most operators treat PT as an add-on or a tenancy model rather than a core commercial function. This leads to poor recruitment standards, inconsistent onboarding, limited development and high trainer churn, all of which undermine performance. The data shows that many gyms lose the majority of new trainers between months six and 12, wiping out thousands of pounds in potential revenue before those trainers ever reach stable productivity.

Commenting on the findings, Co-Owner of YPT, Aaron McCulloch said: “For too long, personal trainers have been treated like tenants instead of business partners. When you build the right systems around recruitment, onboarding and development, PT stops being unpredictable.”