Gym sector shrinking despite expansion plans

The gym sector appears to be shrinking, despite its reputation for being recession-proof. According to the 20th annual State of the Fitness Industry report, the number of sites has fallen by 2.4% compared with 2019 to 7,063, while memberships are down 4.7% to 9.9m. Market value is down by 4.3%, the first year-on-year decrease since 2008. The penetration rate, based on the percentage of the population who have a membership paid monthly by direct debit, has fallen from 15.6% to 14.6%. David Minton, director of the Leisure Database Company, which produces the report, said closures had doubled in the past two years to 631. “Pre-Covid, that would have been the equivalent of four years of closures,” he said. Analysts have suggested that, despite talk from some operators about growth plans, there seems to be some “mixed messaging”. James Wheatcroft, an analyst at Jefferies, said although the Gym Group had highlighted its view that there continued to be an “increased white space opportunity for value gyms in the UK”, it seemed “cautious about grabbing that land”. The Times (£)