The EuropeActive and Deloitte 2025 report finds price increases and expansion are driving growth in the European fitness sector. Kath Hudson reports

Memberships of health clubs in Europe increased by almost four million in 2024 and revenues by 10 per cent.

These are the findings of the 2025 European Health and Fitness Market Report (EHFMR) from EuropeActive and Deloitte, which were presented recently at the European Health and Fitness Forum in Cologne, Germany.

The growth in memberships from 67.7 million in 2023 to 71.6 million in 2024, was driven in part by large increases in the UK, which now has 11.5 million members (an increase of 6.1 per cent); Germany (11.7 million, up 3.6 per cent) and Spain (6.2 million an 8.7 per cent rise.)

Total European revenues increased by around 10 per cent to €36bn in 2024, including the UK (€6.7bn, up by 11.8 per cent); Germany (€5.8bn, a 7 per cent increase) and Spain (€2.6bn, plus 11.1 per cent).

This increase was mainly driven by a combination of additional price increases that were implemented in response to ongoing inflationary pressures, along with growth in the number of clubs and a significant rise in memberships.

Business is good
There was a two per cent increase in the number of clubs, to 64,000. This upward trend is also evident in the positive business climate among European operators. In January 2025, 80 percent of all European operators surveyed for the report rated their current business situation as good, which is a 20 per cent improvement on January 2023.

In terms of membership, the top three operators remain Basic-Fit (4.2 million), PureGym (around 2 million) and RSG Group (1.8 million). Basic-Fit generated the most revenue (€1.2bn), followed by David Lloyd Leisure (€1bn) and PureGym (€695m).

The top 20 health and fitness operators collectively generated a total of €7.4bn in revenue during 2024 – a 15 per cent increase – with club membership up by almost 1.5 million to 18.8 million (an 8 per cent increase).

A record number of merger and acquisition transactions were also completed.

The three largest deals by club volume included the acquisition of Germany’s LifeFit Group (140 fitness clubs) by financial investor Waterland Private Equity; the sale of VivaGym Group (104 fitness clubs) to Providence Equity Partners, as well as the acquisition of operator Altafit (70 fitness clubs in Spain) by VivaGym Group.

Overall the penetration rate was up by 0.5 per cent to 8.9 per cent of the total population, and 10.6 per cent of the population over the age of 15 (10.1 per cent in 2023).

Since the penetration rate in the US is 23.7 per cent of people over the age of six, these numbers illustrate the growth potential for the sector.

Consumer interest is growing
Consumer research conducted on a sample of 13,000 people in 19 countries in January 2025, confirmed that while participation in home and outdoor fitness among regular fitness practitioners has decreased by two and five per cent respectively, club-based exercise is up two per cent on the previous year.

This year location ranked as the most important factor when choosing a gym, ahead of price. This reverses last year’s order and suggests consumers across Europe feel inflationary pressures are easing, or they have become accustomed to them.

Results from the UK study (UK Health and Fitness Market Report, by UK Active and Deloitte) found price still leads over location in the UK.

More respondents without a regular fitness routine indicated a strong desire for improvement in their physical and emotional wellbeing and those who consider themselves to be in very good physical health scored 30 per cent higher on the wellbeing scale than those without a regular fitness routine.

A clear trend can be observed towards greater health awareness within the population, with the fitness industry increasingly valued for physical and also mental health and wellbeing. As a result, many chains are broadening their services to incorporate wellbeing and recovery options, reflecting a shift towards a more holistic approach.

New in the report this year is the inclusion of an analysis of the industry in major cities in Europe. The 150-page report includes a full description of key operators and key countries.

Herman Rutgers, EuropeActive ambassador and co-author of the report says: “Based on the growth shown in our research and the outlook for 2025 and beyond – as expressed by the operators we interviewed – we’re confident of reaching EuropeActive’s ambition of getting to 100 million members of health and fitness facilities across Europe by 2030.”

More: www.HCMmag.com/EHFMR2025

Footnote: The launch of the European report follows the publication of the 2025 UK Health and Fitness Market Report, from UK Active in partnership with Deloitte, 4Global and Sport England. www.HCMmag.com/UKHFMR2025