Gym groups · market data, last checked 29 October 2026
The UK fitness market, in sourced figures
The UK fitness market had 7,463 gyms, 12.1 million members, a 17.6% penetration rate and a market value of £7.29bn in 2026, according to Leisure DB’s State of the UK Fitness Industry Report 2026 (Leisure Opportunities). ukactive’s 2026 report, using a different method, counts 5,842 clubs and 12.2 million members.
Below: why the two counts differ, the budget, public and premium segments, and what the listed operators report about themselves.
UK fitness market
01/ UK fitness industry statistics
Every core measure is at a record.
Leisure DB’s 2026 report puts the market at 7,463 gyms, 12.1 million members, 17.6% penetration and £7.29bn of market value (Leisure Opportunities, 8 June 2026).
A year earlier the same series recorded 7,202 gyms, 16.6% penetration and £6.5bn, with gyms counted at the end of March 2025 (Health Club Management, 5 June 2025).
Openings now outrun closures: Leisure DB counted 172 openings and 119 closures in 2025 (Leisure Opportunities).
Penetration means members as a share of the whole UK population, not of adults, so it understates the share of adults who belong.
Leisure DB market value, £bn
02/ Two counts of one market
Leisure DB and ukactive measure differently.
ukactive’s UK Health & Fitness Market Report 2026, analysed by Grant Thornton with 4GLOBAL and Sport England, counts 5,842 clubs, 12.2 million members aged 16 and over, 18% penetration and £6.5bn of total income (ukactive).
The difference is method. ukactive works from recorded visits and spending supplied by operators; its sample covers 74% of private, 85% of public and 88% of independent operators (ukactive).
Leisure DB tracks more than 7,000 sites directly and estimates spend from published membership prices, which is why its market value sits about £800m above ukactive’s income figure (Leisure Opportunities).
The member counts are now close. The site counts are not, because ukactive’s definition excludes studio-only and pool-only venues.
Quote one series per sentence, name it, and never mix one report’s members with the other’s sites.
- Gyms or clubs7,463Leisure DB 2026: 7,463. ukactive 2026: 5,842.
- Members, millions12.1mLeisure DB 2026: 12.1m. ukactive 2026: 12.2m.
- Penetration, %17.6%Leisure DB 2026: 17.6%. ukactive 2026: 18.0%.
- Value or income, £bn£7.29bnLeisure DB 2026: £7.29bn. ukactive 2026: £6.5bn.
Leisure DB 2026 as reported by Leisure Opportunities; ukactive UK Health & Fitness Market Report 2026. Leisure DB reports estimated market value; ukactive reports total income.
03/ Budget, mid-market and boutique
Three segments, three different economics.
Budget. PureGym, The Gym Group and JD Gyms owned 94% of the UK’s low-cost clubs in Leisure DB’s 2025 count, and the average low-cost monthly fee passed £25 for the first time (Health Club Management).
Public sector. Leisure DB counted 2,475 public gyms with 3.51 million members, a £33.16 average monthly fee and £1.56bn of value in 2025 (Health Club Management).
Private mid-market and premium. The private sector as a whole had 4,727 clubs, almost 7.8 million members, a £48.45 average fee and £4.91bn of value in the same edition (Health Club Management).
Boutique studios are the gap in the data. Leisure DB’s private count excludes studios and hotel gyms, and ukactive excludes studio-only sites, so no figure here measures boutique fitness.
The 2026 edition adds that the top 10 operators hold about 30% of sites but well over half of members and market value (Leisure Opportunities).
Low-cost chains
Average fee above £25 (Leisure DB 2025). Three operators own 94% of clubs.
£25+Council and trust leisure
2,475 gyms, 3.51m members, average £33.16 (Leisure DB 2025).
£33Mid-market and premium clubs
4,727 clubs, 7.8m members, average £48.45 (Leisure DB 2025).
£48Studios
Excluded from both national counts. No sourced total.
n/a04/ Gym operators UK
What the two listed budget operators report.
Each figure is the operator’s own published result for the year to 31 December 2025. Neither is a client, and this is not a ranking.
The Gym Group plc reported 260 UK gyms and 923,000 members at 31 December 2025, revenue of £244.9m and an average Standard headline price of £25.64 in December 2025 (The Gym Group plc FY25 results).
PureGym describes itself as the UK’s largest operator. Its group figures, 714 gyms and 2.3 million members, include Denmark, Switzerland, the USA and 23 Middle East franchise gyms, so they are not UK totals (PureGym FY25 results, LSE RNS).
Leisure DB’s 2025 count gave PureGym 422 UK sites and The Gym Group 244, with Anytime Fitness, Nuffield Health and David Lloyd Clubs each above 100 (Health Club Management).
05/ Who is active
Most adults are active; most are not members.
Sport England’s Active Lives survey found 64.6% of adults in England, 30.9 million people, met the 150-minute weekly guideline in November 2024-25 (Sport England). It is an official statistic, and it covers England only.
The gaps are the market’s headroom: 53.8% of the least affluent adults are active against 73.2% of the most affluent, and 49.1% of disabled people and those with long-term conditions (Sport England).
Leisure DB’s 2026 edition notes that gym use is weighted towards London and the South East and towards family-oriented, suburban groups (Leisure Opportunities).
Sport England Active Lives, Nov 2024-25
Leisure DB 2026
06/ Using the data well
Before you quote a market figure.
Most errors in fitness market copy are mixed editions, mixed geographies or a group figure presented as a UK one.
Tick each before a figure goes into a plan, a pitch or a board paper.
Market figure checklist · 0/6 in place
to check
07/ From market to plan
Turning market data into a growth plan.
A national penetration figure tells you the market is growing; it does not tell you whether your catchment is.
The plan comes from your own joiners, leavers and price points, set against your local competitors. Start with gym member retention and the gym membership retention rate benchmarks, then gym membership pricing.
If you are entering the market, how to open a gym covers the site and model choices, and gym marketing strategies the launch.
We work with gym groups as a gym marketing agency: acquisition, retention and pricing plans built on figures you can stand behind.
Book a call →
Written by Dan Keegan
08/ questions
UK fitness market FAQs.
How big is the UK fitness market?
How many gyms are there in the UK?
How many people have a gym membership in the UK?
What percentage of the UK population goes to the gym?
Is the UK fitness industry growing?
Who is the largest gym operator in the UK?
Why do UK fitness market reports give different numbers?
Plans built on real figures
Grow your share of a growing market.
We help gym groups and leisure operators turn market data and their own member records into acquisition and retention plans.
10/ sources
Every claim, and where it came from
Last checked 29 October 2026. Each source was opened and read that day.
- Leisure DB (as reported by Leisure Opportunities) — State of the UK Fitness Industry Report 2026: gyms, members, penetration, market value, openingsIndustry report, reported by trade press
- Leisure DB — State of the UK Fitness Industry Report 2025 (online edition)Industry report, publisher’s own
- Health Club Management — Report of Leisure DB 2025: segments, sector averages, operator site countsTrade press reporting an industry report
- ukactive — UK Health & Fitness Market Report 2026 release: clubs, members, penetration, income, sample coverageSector body report
- ukactive — UK Health & Fitness Market Report 2026 (report page)Sector body report
- The Gym Group plc — Full year results to 31 December 2025Listed operator’s own results
- PureGym Limited — 2025 full year results (LSE RNS 1108C, 28 April 2026)Operator’s own results
- Sport England — Active Lives Adult Survey, November 2024-25Official statistics (England)