Posted:07-May-2021
"April is the new January" - health club giant Anytime Fitness reports record month for new memberships as UK invests in its health
Leading franchised health club provider Anytime Fitness UK has reported that April was its busiest month for new memberships since it began trading in the UK.
Its independently owned clubs have welcomed tens of thousands of new members in April, seeing unprecedented demand for health club memberships. This record-breaking month comes despite its clubs in England opening 12 days into the month and its Scottish and Northern Ireland clubs opening in the final week. Meanwhile, its Wales and Republic of Ireland clubs remained closed throughout April, with the former opening its doors this week.
These stats suggest that people across the UK have taken last month’s gym re-openings as the perfect time to kickstart new healthy routines and feel safe to do so with the various safety measures introduced in gyms that have proven to minimise COVID-19 case transmissions.
“We’ve been delighted to see so many of our local communities wanting to re-invest in their health and wellbeing,” said Neil Randall, CEO of Anytime Fitness UK. “It would seem that more people than ever are seeing the importance of their own personal health, having come through such a challenging year. As independent business owners, our franchisees have shared those challenges but have all shown great proactivity and initiative to attract so many new members throughout April.”
However, while Anytime Fitness UK are keen to celebrate this success, Neil is quick to express that the health and fitness sector will still face challenging times ahead despite this initial month of positivity.
“While these figures make fantastic early reading, our sector still requires more Government support to secure the future of facilities,” added Neil. “Our clubs have made great early inroads in rebuilding their membership bases but many have had over eight months of no income in the past year with no deferrals on sizeable payments such as rent. The moratorium preventing commercial evictions is due to be lifted soon which will be present a significant challenge to both ourselves and the wider industry. As a sector, we continue to campaign for the same VAT relief enjoyed by the hospitality sector as well as legislative support around landlord and tenant relationships.”
Since its clubs reopened in England from 12 April, Anytime Fitness has also reported positive member usage across England, with over 50% of its membership base registering a workout in the first three weeks.
“We’re passionate about improving the health of the nation and as restrictions began to ease, these positive early numbers suggest that people are seeing this as the perfect time to set new goals, establish new habits and invest in their health,” added Neil. “We anticipate similar patterns in Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales and the Republic of Ireland and it’s great to see that personal health is at the forefront of the nation’s minds.”
Since the turn of the year, Anytime Fitness has opened five new clubs across the UK in St Helier (Jersey), Epsom, Newark, Addlestone and Daventry as entrepreneurship continued to thrive during lockdown. It is expecting to open a further four clubs in May, taking the UK portfolio to in excess of 180 clubs.
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