The UK’s booming fitness franchise market is proving to be a big hit with investors from outside of the industry, with licensed gyms offering a compelling investment opportunity against a backdrop of low interest rates and limited options.

That’s the view of Anytime Fitness UK general manager Brett Edwards, who said the growth of the wellness industry is turning heads in a climate where historically low interest rates make borrowing cheap and savings accounts less attractive.

“We were ranked as the number one franchise opportunity in the world last year – with a 96 per cent success rate – and the momentum behind the wellness industry is certainly drawing attention from investors,” Edwards told Health Club Management.

“Around 95 per cent of Anytime Fitness franchisees come from out the fitness industry and we’re seeing an appetite for healthier franchise investments, as opposed to the traditional fast food franchises which now look less appealing as policymakers explore ways to tackle obesity.”

The UK fitness franchise has certainly been showing signs of increased activity in the past few years. In addition to well established player énergie Group, we’ve recently seen the arrival and growth of US franchise giants such as Snap Fitness and Anytime Fitness, while boutique concepts such as Studio Lagree and Barry’s Bootcamp are also getting in on the act.

Anytime Fitness is launching its 3,000th global site in Stroud, UK, this month and the company is eager to ramp up its UK arm further in what is becoming an increasingly competitive market.

“We’ve currently got 64 sites in the UK and we aim to hit 200 in the next couple of years,” Edwards added.

“Fitness is growing – the competition is good for us and good for the industry. The biggest challenge for our franchisees is sticking true to the model and not being disheartened by the threat of budget gyms and such-like. With 87 per cent of the market untapped, there’s still lots of room for the right propositions.”