Gym chain unveils ‘massive investment’ plan with new spa retreats

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Health club chain David Lloyd Leisure has unveiled plans to open 13 new spa retreats this year as part of a “massive investment” drive to tap into the burgeoning premium health and wellbeing trend.

Chief executive Russell Barnes said the group was aiming to end 2024 with 40 spa retreats in total as it looks to “premiumise” its 133-strong estate.

The move comes amid a shift towards prioritising health and wellbeing since the pandemic, with its members demanding ever-more premium facilities.

He said: “There’s been a fundamental shift in people looking after their health and wellness and we think it’s here to stay.

“The need to be social and meet your friends for a cup of coffee and do something that makes you feel better, whatever that is – the need to take time out for yourself.”

He said the group shed 14% of its membership at the height of the pandemic, but that this bounced back within six months and has been growing ever since.

It now has more than 750,000 members across its clubs, with 103 sites in the UK and a further 30 across mainland Europe.

The upmarket chain notched up a record 52 million member visits in 2023 – 10 million more than the previous year – having invested £120 million into its clubs last year.

Mr Barnes said that demand for its services have proved resilient to the cost-of-living crisis, with the group’s members still putting health and wellness first.

“We’re an expensive choice, we know that,” Mr Barnes told PA.

But he added: “Our members want us to become even more premium.

“They want the quality to increase, so we’ve got a massive investment programme over the next five years.”

As well as the spa retreats, the group is also rolling out another 15 padel tennis courts across its sites, as well as seven more dedicated pickleball courts to capitalise on growing demand for the racket sports across the UK.

The group is also investing £30 million in solar panels and £20 million in energy efficient technology as it looks to meet its goals to become net zero by 2030.

The measures will also help cut its energy bill, which soared after Russia’s war with Ukraine.

Mr Barnes said rocketing energy bills sent the group’s annual costs surging from £27 million to £72 million in its last financial year, though he said gas and electricity costs have since been easing back.

As part of energy efficient investment, the group has installed low energy LED lighting on its tennis courts and is overhauling its heating and cooling systems.

It also aims to instal renewable energy generators in each new club built from scratch.

David Lloyd Leisure was bought by private equity firm TDR Capital in 2013 in a deal thought to have been worth about £750 million.

It was reported last June that TDR – which, together with the billionaire Issa brothers, also owns supermarket Asda – had hired advisers to look at strategic options for the group, including a possible sale.

According to reports at the time, TDR was holding out for offers of more than £2 billion for David Lloyd.

Mr Barnes said TDR had been “fantastic” long-standing owners, but added “it’s no surprise that they will want to realise their investment and sell it on”.

“Right now there’s nothing going on around that,” he stressed.