Basic-Fit opened a record number of 72 clubs in the first quarter of 2022. Fifty-five in France, eight in the Netherlands, two in Belgium and seven in Spain, despite closures and restrictions caused by the pandemic.

The operator grew by 182 clubs in 2021, of which 136 are in France. Overall, the network now consists of 1,087 clubs: France, 583; Netherlands, 224; Belgium, 207; Spain, 63; and Luxembourg, 10.

According to the fitness chain’s Q1 trading update, memberships are up 46 per cent year-on-year, and revenue in Q1 of 2022 was €162m against €10.7m in the same period last year.

The figure would have been even higher if it hadn’t been for a two-week COVID-19 shutdown in the Netherlands, during which time Basic-Fit did not collect membership fees. The average revenue per member per month amounted to €21.51 – the same period in 2021 brought in €1.70.

“We recorded a strong increase in memberships of more than 400,000 in the quarter,” said René Moos, CEO of Basic-Fit. “This was achieved while we were still confronted with COVID-19-related government measures in all countries, including two weeks of lockdown in the Netherlands.

“Year to date, we grew our network by 82 clubs, and we are on track to grow to 1,250 by the end of this year. We expect to grow the number of memberships by at least 1m following this strong first quarter. We're currently working hard, preparing for the rollout in Germany in the second half of this year.”

In 2021, Moos pledged to grow the Basic-Fit network to 2,000 clubs by 2025 and between 3,000 and 3,500 clubs by 2030. The realisation of this goal is underpinned by expansion into German territories.

Construction of primary locations in Germany is planned to start in 2022, with the goal of opening 20 clubs by the end of the year and in the longer term 600 clubs across the country.

"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,” said Moos. “In total, we expect to be able to open 600 clubs in Germany in the coming years.”

So far 2022’s results demonstrate a strong recovery for Basic-Fit, which expects revenue for the year to hit somewhere between €800m to €850m, with an underlying EBITDA of around €240m. This is in strong contrast to 2021 where revenues were €341m with an EBITDA of €31.6m (2020 brought €93.8m).

According to Moos, the available liquidity at the end of March 2022 is €209m, compared with €428m in 2021.