30 April, 2026
SHARE
By Dr Matthew Wade, Head of Research at ukactive
It doesn’t feel like a year ago since I was writing one of these blogs, but what an incredible year it has been for the UK’s health and fitness sector. As presented in the UK Health & Fitness Market Report 2026, which we published this month, we’ve seen growth for the sector as a whole, record numbers of members, and provided a greater understanding of key drivers behind this growth.
Now in its second year, the report presented quarterly trends from across the sector, providing a unique view of performance and consumer behaviour in the UK. It really is a product of true collaboration, bringing together data from ukactive, Sport England, and 4GLOBAL, with analysis by Grant Thornton. We’ve been supported by headline sponsors Matrix and BLKBOX and contributing sponsors Precor and Technogym, as well as receiving input from operators, suppliers, analysts, and subject experts.
These insights, combined with data on recorded customer visits across the UK’s public, private and independent fitness facilities, make this report the sector’s most authoritative source of market intelligence.
What did we learn this year?
For the first time, the report presented a combined sector estimation of the attributable social value generated through health and fitness activities – an incredible £7.5bn. This is measured by using participation data and national models of wellbeing and health impact to calculate a person’s improved life satisfaction and reduced incidence of major health conditions.
Across the sector we’re seeing continued growth, with 18% of the population now members of a health and fitness club, reflecting an increase of about 1% every year since data collection began. This is being achieved in various ways.
The public sector
In the public sector, we saw a continuation of filling the capacity within the clubs by increasing the members per club. While there was a modest growth in clubs, the increase in members coupled with increase in throughput saw growth in membership and total income. Increases in income were seen across the sector as a response to increased operational costs, but for the public sector the combination of wider activities within memberships and the ability to generate greater non-membership income through flexible offers play an important role in supporting inclusive access and the overall commercial resilience of public leisure facilities
The private sector
The private sector saw growth primarily driven by expanding the number of clubs, which in turn increased membership and associated income. There continues to be a diversity to the offering provided by the private sector through flexible high-value, low-cost options capitalising on rising demand from increasingly price sensitive consumers, through to mid-market operators elevating their value proposition by balancing affordability with experience, breadth of service and overall quality, and the premium-end operators are broadening and strengthening their propositions in response to a growing appetite for holistic wellbeing experiences.
The independent sector
Independent operators also saw a modest increase in clubs but maintenance of overall members, however, those members visited more frequently and generated more income, with the largest increase in membership income per member. This demonstrates the ability of the independent sector to drive value even without substantial membership expansion, with pricing primarily seen as a response to operational challenges from rising cost pressures, rather than a shift toward premium positioning.
Wider trends
This performance has been shaped by six key trends developed through ukactive’s consumer survey, extensive stakeholder engagement, and desktop research. Gyms and leisure centres are increasingly functioning as hubs that anchor wider activity routines, with rising membership penetration both strengthening operator performance and expanding population-level physical activity.
Engagement, however, varies significantly across demographics, underscoring the need for targeted, inclusive, and responsive offers. While operators, especially in public leisure, are broadening their health-related services, inconsistent pathways, and lagging consumer perceptions limit impact, highlighting the need for clearer referrals, stronger clinical collaboration and more visible, confidence-building health offers.
At the same time, operators remain cautious about rapid trend adoption, emphasising innovations that deliver long-term member value, often led by independents who test concepts at smaller scale.
Cost pressures are reshaping behaviours on both sides of the market, making affordability, clear value communication, and tailored pricing increasingly central to sustaining engagement. Finally, the strongest retention outcomes now come from a hybrid approach where human connection, behavioural support and well-integrated technology work together to help members feel confident, supported and valued from the outset.
So, what next? As well as continuing to work collaboratively with our report partners and ukactive members to expand our data collection and insights produced, we’ll also be using the evidence produced within this report to ensure our sector is at the heart of national conversations.
To read the UK Health & Fitness Market Report 2026, click here.
For more information on the report and benchmarking projects, click here.
