Remember when we lived in masks and hand sanitiser? Our franchise partners Anytime Fitness have written this blog showcasing the strength of the fitness industry after it emerges from the chaos of the last two years. To find out more about Anytime, visit the LAPS Members-Only site.
After the challenges of the past few years, the health and fitness sector has shown remarkable resilience as it recovers back to its feet.
Throughout the 21st century, both market value and the number of UK gym members have consistently increased year on year, with health and wellbeing becoming a significant part of people’s lives.
The pandemic threw an unforeseeable curveball which saw gyms and leisure facilities endure multiple enforced closures. However, the sector’s dedication and innovation have seen health clubs equal and surpass their pre-pandemic turnover as they welcome members back in their droves.
At Anytime Fitness, alongside our franchisees, we successfully weathered the storm and have come out of the other side in a strong position for sustained future growth and success. Such was our recovery, our team was awarded the Business Resilience Award at the prestigious 2021 British Franchise Association Awards.
Our club network grew by 14 clubs between 2020 and 2021, with the pandemic having little to no impact on the success of new clubs which opened across the two years. Clubs that opened in 2020 had an average member count of 733 after 30 days of opening, on a par with 2019.
Fast forward to today and this sustained demand for health club memberships shows no sign of slowing down. We opened two new sites in vastly different locations in May 2022; Maynooth in the Republic of Ireland and Maidenhead in Berkshire, both of which have already surpassed 1,000 members and rapidly exceeded their breakeven revenue targets.