Thought of the Week
Are premium gyms the new craze in the UK?
April 10, 2025 8 Minute Read
Almost 11 million Brits – 16% of the population – have a gym membership. This number has been steadily increasing since 2022 and is now higher than the last peak in 2019. Evidence from CBRE’s Consumer Survey suggest this trend is set to continue. Moreover, despite continued financial pressures, a growing number of people are choosing to visit premium gyms, where memberships fees often surpass £200 a month.
Gyms are the top leisure choice
For the second consecutive year, our consumer survey shows that gym attendance is the most reoccurring leisure activity for Brits, with 74% planning to increase or keep the frequency of their visits the same in 2025.
Figure 1: Expected change in frequency of leisure activities in 2025
Even though outgoings have increased for 70% of respondents, keeping fit and healthy remains a priority, with many preferring to cut back on eating out, going to the pub or the cinema, than the gym. As a result, the health and fitness sector is experiencing growth and operational performance remains robust. According to Leisure DB’s State of the UK Fitness Industry Report 2024, the UK gym market is valued at £5.9bn (a 9.7% increase from 2023). The average membership fee across the UK is £47.24 per month, rising to £74.97 in London.
The segments of the market performing best are the budget and premium ends, rather than the squeezed mid-market. While demand for budget gyms aligns with the general sentiment around personal finances and economic cutbacks, what is driving demand for premium gyms?
Gen Z and Millennials are prioritising health and wellness
The importance Gen Z and Millennials are placing on health and wellness has been increasing and, therefore, so has the amount that they are willing to spend on it. In our consumer survey, 43% of those aged 16-34 are planning to increase their gym spend in 2025, compared with 23% of those over 35. A contributing factor is the exposure young people have to health and fitness information online. For example, Instagram has a vast amount of wellness-related content available, not only on fitness but overall wellbeing, mental health, and nutrition. Many influencers have dedicated their accounts to promoting healthy lifestyles. Gen Z are also drinking less alcohol, and are finding alternative opportunities to socialise, including meeting friends in ‘third places’ such as gyms and fitness classes. Increasingly, premium gyms are adding new services and products to appeal to Gen Z and Millennials, such as lifestyle apps, IV vitamin drips, collagen supplements, padel courts, and areas to socialise in. And for families prioritising their budgets, the combined family memberships offer good value, providing a range of activities from children’s paddle and swimming, to classes and spa treatments for parents, and many gyms have increased the size of the club room so that remote working can be built into member visit times.
An example of a premium gym which has tapped into this concept is Third Space. Third Space market themselves as a club, not just a gym – a fitness and wellness club which is a ‘third space’ after home and work. They have grown to operate 14 clubs in London and constantly evolve their offerings in response to changing fitness attitudes. For example, they now facilitate more strength, mind and body, and relaxation classes, in addition to cardio. They also offer educational sessions on topic such as periodisation of training and sound baths. Third Space’s average visit frequency increased by 10% in 2024, with members typically visiting three or more times a week. Members are willing to pay a premium because they can visit not just for exercise, but recovery too, and be part of a community.
Boutique studios rising in popularity
Leisure DB defines a boutique studio as a permanent, standalone group exercise studio that charges a premium price tag – typically a monthly membership of over £100 a month. The market for these studios started growing post-pandemic, with consumers showing interest in locally accessible health and wellness services, boosted by the shift from working from home. Boutique gyms aim to create a sense of community, often through exclusively running group classes, which you do not benefit from at traditional big box gyms. Classes are typically cardio, mind and body, or CrossFit, and operators focus on quality and promoting both physical and mental health. Demand has remained high with more people showing an interest in personalised and unique workout experiences, reconsidering what good fitness should cost.
Across the UK, there has been a rise of independent studios opening up in gaps in UK high streets. Since 2019, more than 1,000 independent health clubs have opened on high streets, shopping centres, and retail parks. However, boutique gyms are most concentrated in London, where the demographic is wealthier and younger. Between 2018 and 2023, the number of studios in London grew by 17.4%, and now 56% of adults in London live within one mile of a boutique studio. Operators tend to locate centrally near offices or in areas with high numbers of young residents; the London boroughs with the highest number of studios are Westminster, Wandsworth, and Camden. Studios require less space than traditional gyms, making them well-suited for urban areas where land is constrained.
Subscription platforms make premium more accessible
Subscription platforms such as ClassPass have been growing in popularity and help drive attendance in premium gym classes. Members of ClassPass pay a monthly fee which then provides them with access to book fitness, wellness, and beauty classes from a selection of thousands of service providers. Many of the participating gyms are from the premium segment, with most boutique London studios on the app. ClassPass has seen huge success in recent years; in 2024, fitness reservations increased by 51%, and salon and spa reservations by 38%, in comparison to 2023. Pilates was the most booked class in 2024 – an 84% increase on 2023. It has become a consolidate lifestyle platform which appeals to consumers who don’t want to commit to a membership at one club but have the flexibility to attend multiple and try out new classes.
ClassPass makes premium studios more accessible to consumers but also boosts revenues for operators by filling class spaces. Psycle is a premium spinning studio in London, which has said since partnering with ClassPass in 2022, they have been able to optimise their inventory allocation by allocating ClassPass spaces based on supply and demand to fill classes that would otherwise gone unfilled by direct customers. The app has improved operational performance and introduced Psycle to a new customer segment seeking flexibility and convenience, who might have otherwise been missed.
Demand for premium remains high
Despite economic cutbacks, gyms continue to lead in leisure, and it’s not just budget gyms performing well, but premium gyms too. A more exposed and health-conscious generation are prioritising wellness and willing to pay more for it. Boutique studios, offering a more personalised fitness experience, are a segment of the premium gym market that have been performing well, and subscription platforms like ClassPass are helping to drive attendance. The combination of these factors is sustaining demand for premium gyms and driving growth in the sector.
