According to a report from EuropeActive and Deloitte, European fitness club memberships increased by roughly seven million members, or 12.3 percent, from 56.2 million in 2021 to 63.1 million by year-end 2022, just slightly short of the pre-COVID year level in 2019.
The 20 largest health club operators saw membership numbers increase by 2.6 million, or 22 percent, to 14.8 million. The three largest European operators were Basic-Fit, 3.35 million members; RSG Group, 1.81 million; and PureGym, 1.66 million.
The study found that total European revenues increased by 66 percent to €28.0 billion in 2022, also close to 2019 figures. The number of fitness clubs slightly increased by 0.5 percent to 63,830.
The report also showed that in 2022, 13 major M&A transactions were completed in the sector, and the overall penetration of fitness club membership, as a percent of the total population in 2022, was 7.9 percent and 9.5 percent of the 15-plus population.
Herman Rutgers, EuropeActive ambassador and co-author of the report, said: “The European Health & Fitness Market Report has become the gold standard for market research in the fitness and physical activity sector. Based on the strong rebound shown in our research, we are still confident to reach EuropeActive’s ambition of getting to 100 million members of health & fitness centers by 2030.”
Karsten Hollasch, Deloitte, commented, “Entering 2023, the European health and fitness market is back on its growth track. Looking ahead, positive market development is also expected for this year, further supported by ambitious expansion plans of Europe’s largest operators.”
