Contact: Katie Broome
Deloitte
Public Relations
+ 44 (0) 207 303 6359
Over 100,000 people are expected to join UK fitness clubs over the next few days as they act on New Year’s resolutions to improve their fitness according to the HealthClubBenchmark Survey by Deloitte.
Data shows the number of people joining health clubs is 65% higher in January then other months of the year. In January 2006 in excess of 100,000 people joined a gym, compared to an average of 63,500 per month across the rest of the year.
Neil Burton, manager of HealthClubBenchmark comments: “January is a great time for anyone interested in joining a gym to shop around for bargains. On average health club members will pay £46.00 per month and many health clubs will offer competitive packages and incentives to help get members started. For regular gym goers, this monthly fee presents excellent value for money as the range and quality of facilities on offer is better than ever.”
Whilst other areas of household expenditure such as hotels and private education have risen above inflation over recent years, membership subscriptions to a gym remaining fairly static. On average gym membership fees rose by 3.2% during 2006.
He added: “Operators are starting to look at innovative ways to engage the 61% of the population who have never considered walking through the door. As a result I would expect to see more clubs introducing flexible membership options and additional programmes and incentives to support members finding it difficult to maintain their New Year enthusiasm.”
Other results:
London remains the most expensive city for gym membership with average monthly subscriptions of £53.40. Northern Ireland is the cheapest location, charging an average of £35.93 for monthly membership. However, other parts of the UK have seen membership fees rise faster. The highest rise was in Wales where gym fees have increased by 5.4% during 2006.
Download the full press release with supporting tables and images. (PDF, 84 KB)
ENDS
Notes for editors
All monthly subscriptions have been calculated to include VAT.
HealthClubBenchmark is the first ever benchmarking solution for the UK health club industry tracking the financial performance of the sector every month. Drawing on data representing 1.4 million members and 500 health clubs across the UK, HealthClubBenchmark provides in-depth analysis of key membership and profitability statistics. HealthClubBenchmark is supported by a number of leading UK health clubs. For further information or details on how to join the survey please contact Neil Burton on +44 (0) 20 7007 2733 or visit us at www.HealthClubBenchmark.com
About Deloitte:
In this press release references to Deloitte are references to Deloitte & Touche LLP which is among the country’s leading professional services firms, providing audit, tax, consulting and corporate finance services. Deloitte & Touche LLP is the United Kingdom member firm of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu (‘DTT’), a Swiss Verein whose member firms are separate and independent legal entities. Neither DTT nor any of its member firms has any liability for each other’s omissions. Services are provided by member firms or their subsidiaries and not by DTT. Deloitte & Touche LLP is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority.
The information contained in this press release is correct at the time of going to press.
