Basic-Fit has revealed plans to enter the German fitness market during 2022.

The European fitness giant said it will begin construction on the initial locations during the first half of the year, opening during the second half and plans to open up to 20 clubs by the end of 2022.

Long term, Basic-Fit said it sees the potential of having 600 clubs in the country.

CEO Rene Moos said the German expansion is part of ambitious growth plans for the chain, which could see it operating 3,500 clubs by 2030.

"We see a bright future for value-for-money fitness and the Basic-Fit proposition in particular," Moos said.

"In November, we announced our intention of accelerating club openings to 200 to 300 a year, with the aim of growing to 2,000 clubs by 2025 and between 3,000 and 3,500 clubs by 2030.

"In the second quarter of 2022, we will start with the construction of the first clubs in Germany and expect to open the first ones in the second half of this year. In total, we expect to be able to open 600 clubs in Germany in the coming years.

"Year to date, we opened 66 clubs and are on track to grow our network to 1,250 clubs this year.

"We expect to grow the number of memberships by at least 1 million following a strong development in January and February and an even stronger first eight days in March, triggered by the lifting of health pass restrictions.

"All in all, 2022 promises to be a year of recovery and growth."

Final results posted today for 2021 show the company increased its membership numbers by 11 per cent to 2.22 million (2020: 2.00 million) and recorded 110 net club openings, growing its network to 1,015 clubs (up 12 per cent year on year). It also launched a new Basic-Fit app which was developed in-house.

Inevitably, the financial results were affected by the pandemic, temporary club closures and government restrictions, with revenues of €341m (2020: €377m) and an underlying EBITDA of €31.6m (2020: €93.8 million).

This led to a net loss of €150 million, versus a profit of €125m in 2020.

CEO, Rene Moos, confirmed that the company currently has €361m of available liquidity