The UK health and fitness sector has exceeded previous peaks says the 20th State of the Industry Report
Strong differentiation is a marker of commercial success
Addressing the inequality gap is one of the sector’s biggest challenges
LeisureDB has rebranded to Evolve, integrating AI and real-time data technology into its research processes
The 20th State of the Industry Report reveals a resilient, expanding and competitive sector, the importance of differentiation and the ongoing challenge of tackling inequalities.
At the launch of the report, the LeisureDB team announced a rebrand of the company – which was founded by David Minton 45 years ago – to Evolve.
Minton said: “The launch of Evolve reflects a market that has evolved and a business that must evolve with it. Our ambition is to combine four decades of sector expertise with new technology, AI and real-time intelligence to help organisations identify opportunities faster and make better decisions.”
The annual report has been broadened this year. It includes analysis of more than two million member records, demographic profiling, supply mapping, public-private market trends, digital infrastructure, utilisation insights and interviews with operators and industry leaders from across the sector.
Jamie Buck, head of research at Evolve, believes the sector has moved beyond previous peaks and established new benchmarks for participation and market value, saying: “Operators are increasingly positioning themselves within broader health, wellbeing and preventative care ecosystems. This shift presents significant opportunities for operators, investors and suppliers who understand where the market is heading.”
Report highlights
According to the State of the Industry Report 2026, there are 7,463 gyms; 12.1 million members and a penetration rate of 17.6 per cent. The total market value is £7.29 billion.
The report says: “Growth has been driven by continued expansion in the private sector, alongside steady recovery in public provision. For operators, this signals a larger and more engaged customer base, but also a more competitive and performance-driven landscape, with growth increasingly driven by utilisation and value, rather than expansion alone.
“Members per gym has risen steadily in the post-pandemic period, indicating that existing facilities are accommodating more users than in previous cycles and operating at higher levels of intensity.”
With gym openings and closures being almost level in 2022 and 2023 and more closures than openings in 2024, the balance has now strongly tipped in favour of openings. In 2025 there were 172 openings and 119 closures. So far this year there have been 205 openings and 82 closures.
With many of the closing sites being more than a decade old, the report points out the importance of investing and repositioning.
The private sector is almost evenly split between chains and independents, however the independents represent a greater share of closures – 58.2 per cent compared to 41.8 per cent. This shows the structural advantages of larger operators – economies of scale, brand recognition and greater access to capital for investment – and the importance of clear differentiation for independents.
Although membership is growing, the public sector has seen a gradual decline in site numbers, with wet facilities representing a disproportionately large share of closures
New supply in the sector is overwhelmingly focused on dry, gym-based formats with the market moving towards efficient, lower-cost models. The top 10 operators account for around 30 per cent of sites but capture well over half of members and market value, benefiting from national reach, brand strength and more advanced operating models.
Regional imbalance
Gym usage continues to be regional – provision is weighted towards London and the South East – and still appeals to fairly limited demographics. Engagement is strongest among mainstream, family-oriented and suburban populations. The private sector scoops up many of these memberships.
The public sector better serves the under-represented rural areas which face more barriers including provision, affordability and relevance of offer.
The report says that closing this gap is critical to long-term growth – this will require geographic reach and adapting the product, pricing and environments.
New formats
The evolution of the sector is increasingly shaped by new services and formats, such as reformer Pilates, recovery and wellness spaces. The report says that the sector is still in the experimentation phase with these, as opposed to widespread rollout.
While padel is growing, the current supply is modest – two to four courts per facility on average, representing a cautious rollout strategy – but the pipeline suggests increasing operator interest. Existing provision is weighted towards outdoor courts, but planned developments show a shift towards indoor formats including outdoor, covered courts.
Impact on health
The report raises the question of whether the growth of the market is improving public health or if growth is concentrated on improvements within already active segments of the population.
Results show that participation tends to be among more affluent, already active groups. Many of the segments that under-index – lower-income, rural and transient populations – are under-represented, despite making up a substantial share of the UK population.
This is a challenge. The low-cost operators are yet to be well-represented in rural areas and while the public sector is playing a critical role to address inequalities, economics do place a limit.
Future growth
The market is becoming more competitive – growth in demand has been accompanied by openings, closures and continuous churn and repositioning. The report says this suggests growth is concentrated among operators that are best able to meet evolving performance expectations.
Growth is not determined by expansion alone, but how effectively operators optimise existing assets, such as maximising capacity, improving retention and increasing value-per-member.
The role of health, wellness and recovery is expanding, representing opportunities for incremental revenue and differentiation.
“Operators that combine strong positioning, efficient delivery and targeted investment will be best placed to capture the next phase of market growth,” says the report.
You can read the report free at https://weareevolve.io
BACKGROUND
The LeisureDB report is the second to analyse the UK market this year, following the publication of the UK Health and Fitness Industry 2026 Report by Grant Thornton for UK Active in April.
The Grant Thornton report launched in 2025 and comparisons of the two reports show some similarities and some significant differences, with LeisureDB showing significantly less members per club when compared with Grant Thornton (1,569 vs 2,051), potentially due to it monitoring more pay-as-you-go facilities.
Grant Thornton also shows the value of the sector by membership expenditure as being £6.5 billion vs £7.29 billion for LeisureDB in 2026, a difference of .
Grant Thornton's report is based on data from operator's management systems, while LeisureDB/Evolve uses its own proprietory system.
2026
Grant Thornton / UK Active
- Clubs: 5,842
- Members: 12.2 million
- Penetration: 18.0 per cent
- Revenue: £6.5 billion
- Average members per club: 2,088
Leisure DB
- Clubs: 7,463
- Members: 12.1 million
- Penetration: 17.6 per cent
- Market value: £7.29 billion
- Average members per club: 1,621
2025
Grant Thornton / UK Active
- Clubs: 5,607
- Members: 11.5 million
- Penetration: 16.9 per cent
- Revenue: £5.7 billion
- Average members per club: 2,051
Leisure DB
- Clubs: 7,202
- Members: 11.3 million
- Penetration: 16.6 per cent
- Market value: £6.5 billion
- Average members per club: 1,569
Change between 2025 and 2026
Grant Thornton / UK Active
- Clubs: +235
- Members: +0.7 million
- Penetration: +1.1 percentage points
- Revenue: +£800 million
- Members per club: +37
Leisure DB
- Clubs: +261
- Members: +0.8 million
- Penetration: +1.0 percentage point
- Market value: +£790 million
- Members per club: +52
Differences between the reports
2025
- Clubs: Leisure DB +1,595
- Members: Grant Thornton +200k
- Penetration: Grant Thornton +0.3 percentage points
- Market value: Leisure DB +£800 million
- Members per club: Grant Thornton +482
2026
- Clubs: Leisure DB +1,621
- Members: Grant Thornton +100k
- Penetration: Grant Thornton +0.4 percentage points
- Market value: Leisure DB +£790 million
- Members per club: Grant Thornton +467
