Anytime Fitness plans to bulk up
Anytime Fitness has become the latest gym operator to announce expansion plans.
Anytime Fitness, the UK’s third-largest private operator, announced a 20-site expansion in 2022 last week, while sector leader PureGym has said it is seeing many more attractive sites at lower rents than before the pandemic.
Anytime said the expansion showed landlords’ desire for a broader mix of businesses on UK high streets, while there is also a need to fill vacancies as retailers prioritise e-commerce over bricks-and-mortar expansion.
Anytime Fitness has become the latest gym operator to announce expansion plans.
Anytime Fitness, the UK’s third-largest private operator, announced a 20-site expansion in 2022 last week, while sector leader PureGym has said it is seeing many more attractive sites at lower rents than before the pandemic.
Anytime said the expansion showed landlords’ desire for a broader mix of businesses on UK high streets, while there is also a need to fill vacancies as retailers prioritise e-commerce over bricks-and-mortar expansion.
The operator has acquired a city centre rental site for £125,000 per year, along with a significant rent-free period, compared with a marketed value of £225,000 per year in 2019.
Neil Randall, chief executive of Anytime Fitness, said: “Gyms are venues that drive footfall. Face-to-face retail alone doesn’t get people into central areas but leisure businesses and gyms are encouraging more people to come in.”
The operator, which will have more than 200 sites in the UK after its expansion, is also targeting empty offices and high street locations, using “small box” sites as small as 3,000 sq ft to enter central locations.
The FT (£)
