EuropeActive and Deloitte have unveiled in a recent webinar the key findings of their “2023 European Health & Fitness Market Report”, which reveals a strong rebound of the sector after two difficult years due to the pandemic. According to the report covering the calendar year 2022, European memberships increased by 12.3 percent to 63.1 million in 2022 versus the previous year, reaching a level slightly short of the pre-Covid year 2019. The 20 largest fitness operators saw their membership numbers increase by 22 percent to 14.8 million.
Total European revenues increased by 66 percent to €28.0 billion in 2022, not far from the year 2019. The number of fitness clubs was flat, recording a tiny increase of 0.5 percent to 63,830. The top 3 fitness operators at the end of 2022 in terms of membership were Basic-Fit (3,352,000 members), RSG Group (1,805,000 members) and PureGym (1,655,000 members). The overall penetration of fitness club membership as a percentage of the total population in 2022 was 7.9 percent, up from 7 percent in 2021 and not far from the pre-Covid level of 8.2 percent in 2019.
At country levels, all the top five markets in Europe – U.K., Germany, France, Spain and Italy – continued to recover. The German market more than doubled its revenues.
In terms of mergers and acquisitions, the European fitness market experienced a total of 13 recorded transactions in 2022, which compares to 19 transactions in 2021 and a 10-year average of 17. Figures, however, show that the fitness market consolidation in Europe is continuing, analysts said.
The survey was conducted online among 10,923 participants aged 16 and above in January 2023.
Image: Jonathan Borba on Unsplash
