FITNESS FRANCHISES
Franchise briefing There’s no sign of the UK’s franchise fitness sector cooling down. It’s not just existing operators looking to add to their burgeoning portfolios – new operators are queueing up to enter the market. Tom Walker reports
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he UK fitness industry is now teeming with franchised brands. Ranging in size from niche operators with a handful of sites to giants such as Anytime Fitness (150 clubs) and énergie (106 clubs), a quick count shows that there are close to 30 companies with some franchising element available for entrepreneurs. The pace of growth has been particularly rapid over the past five years, driven by a number of boutique and budget operators entering the market with ambitious franchising plans. The new entrants include large operators such as Snap Fitness, which is now in the fourth year of an expansion push, aiming to reach 250 clubs. As well as those with big plans, the franchising model has attracted smaller, independently-owned chains. These include Fitness Space, launched by former Olympian Tim Benjamin, which has expanded to 22 sites in five years, and fitness and social brand One Element,
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New entrant to the franchising market, Snap Fitness is pushing for 250 clubs
The UK fitness industry is teeming with franchised brands – over the last five years it’s been particularly driven by boutique and budget operators HCM Handbook 2019
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