Eight of the top 20 private health club operators in the UK have grown their estates since 2019 – in spite of the pandemic – while three more have retained the same number of locations.

The figure comes from the Fitness Industry Preview Report 2021, published by The Leisure Database Company (TLDB), which gives an update on changes in the industry between March 2019 and mid-September 2021.

The report shows that ​​the gap between the top operator (with 290 clubs) and the 20th ranked operator (with 14 clubs) is wider now than at any time in the history of this league table.

The UK's largest private operators have maintained their position during the past 18 months, with PureGym and The Gym Group leading the pack.

In the public sector, GLL remains the largest operator, followed by Everyone Active.

In total, there have been 338 new gym openings in the UK since 1 April 2019 – of which 83 per cent have been in the private sector.

David Minton, founder of TLDB said: “As we move from crisis to recovery mode, this report provides the most up-to-date view of how the industry is bouncing back.

"Overall, across the top operators in the three sectors we have looked at (private, public and low cost), there are more gyms open now than in March 2019 which shows how the industry is playing its part in helping improve the health of the nation.”

To download the full report, visit the Leisure Database Company website.