The Gym Group (TGG) has trialled and introduced a new Off-Peak membership as part of an overhaul of its suite of membership packages.

In September, chair John Treharne told the market the company was trialling a new pricing structure, saying the board expected it to contribute to the drive for profitability once rolled out, while also widening access to new demographics in line with the company’s social impact mandate.

The new Off-Peak package allows members access to one gym location during restricted hours which are defined separately by each gym, with details showing on individual websites.

Off-Peak has been rolled out across TGG’s estate of 234 UK gyms. It's the first time TGG has moved away from its overarching offer of being the 'lowest-cost nationwide 24/7 gym', by restricting hours.

As part of the overhaul, the company's slightly confusing ‘Do It’ and ‘Live It’ memberships have been rebranded to ‘Standard’ and ‘Ultimate’.

Prices are set separately for each location, with the 'From' prices (which is legally required to be the rate being charged in at least 20 per cent of locations), being £13.99 for Off-Peak (plus £5 joining fee) and £18.99 for Standard.

Prices vary across the country – at the lower end of the scale, in places such as Newcastle and Northampton, they start at £12.99 for Off-Peak, rising to £19.99 for Standard, while in the most expensive parts of London they start at £27.99 for Off-Peak and £34.99 for Standard.

In its mid-year report, the company revealed that the average Standard membership value being achieved as at June 2023 was £22.02/month.

With gyms currently running an 'Ultimate for the price of Standard' deal, the Ultimate price is not yet confirmed.

As of June 2023, 30.7 per cent of TGG's 867,000 members were on the Ultimate membership package [previously ‘Live It’].

Both Standard and Ultimate memberships offer 24 hour access. Standard offers members access to one gym and unlimited classes, while Ultimate has additional benefits, including access to 'four gyms of their choice' nationwide (in addition to their 'home' gym), the option of freezing their monthly membership once a year for free, bringing a friend four times a month, FitQuest body composition analysis at some clubs and access to thousands of online workout plans on the Fiit app (which would usually cost £20/month).

Where the Ultimate package is chosen with access to four gyms along with a 'home' gym as a base, the majority of visits need to be to the 'home' gym.

These pricing adjustments are one of the first major moves on the watch of new TGG CEO, Will Orr, who joined the company on 1 September. Orr says: “Introducing an off-peak option will appeal to an even broader member audience and further delivers on TGG’s mission to make fitness more accessible for all, whatever the members’ personal workout routines and cost preferences.”

TGG does not require members to sign contracts, although it does offer a 'Saver Membership' option on the Standard and Ultimate packages, whereby members can get a cheaper rate by paying up-front for nine or 12 months and also a fixed-duration student membership to allow for academic terms.

The Saver Membership was previously called a Fixed Membership and was offered for three, six, nine and 12 months, so this pricing element has also been adjusted as part of the pricing review.

The company has undertaken a number of pricing studies over recent years to ensure it's optimising the market and not falling behind its competitors. Working with pricing experts at Simon Kucher and Partners, the company reviewed its pricing in 2022, identifying a £4 gap against other low cost operators and has been working to close this to drive profitability.