Leisure DB hosted its Q4 2025 Monthly Market Tracker Review in January, offering attendees an exclusive look at the key trends and shifts in the sector during Q4 2025. WellNation attended the call to pick up on the latest insight and data.
Tracker Review began by Jamie Buck, Leisure DB’s Head of Research, introducing attendees to Leisure DB’s ‘My Facility Info’ online submission portal. The platform has been designed to make it easier for fitness and leisure operators to keep their facility information accurate and up to date. The portal enables sites to submit updates directly to Leisure DB on an ongoing basis, complementing the company’s continuous day-to-day research activity.
Jamie explained that this direct input works alongside Leisure DB’s daily intelligence audits, carried out by the research team, to ensure the database remains as current and comprehensive as possible. In fact, 82% of all recorded annual changes are identified through this proactive daily research process, with operator submissions providing an additional layer of validation and real-time updates.
Together, the combination of operator-led submissions and structured research monitoring ensures that Leisure DB maintains one of the most up-to-date and reliable facility datasets in the industry.
INSIGHTS
The review focused on two particular areas – the public sector and padel. In the public sector, Leisure DB recorded 275 changes for Q4, accounting for 42% of all market activity. However, 84% of this activity related to redevelopment and refurbishment, with only three new openings. This confirms that local authorities have moved firmly into ‘asset management mode’, prioritising life-extension, compliance and efficiency upgrades over network expansion. Capital is being directed toward protecting core provision rather than growing estates.
The top redevelopment themes reinforce this pattern. Whole-site and multi-area refurbishments (118 records) lead the way, often bundling multi-million-pound improvements into single programmes. Gym refurbishments (61 records) and swimming pool upgrades (47 records) remain central, reflecting the importance of revenue protection and the high cost risk profile of pools. Studio modernisation and flexible activity spaces also feature, offering lower-cost ways to enhance programming.
Padel within public centres, however, remains opportunistic and pilot-led rather than strategic. In contrast, the dedicated UK Padel Monthly Market Tracker shows 163 developments tracked across November and December 2025 alone. Growth is increasingly driven by court additions at site expansions rather than first-site launches, signalling operator confidence and capital discipline.
There is a clear structural move toward indoor and covered formats, driven by utilisation, programming stability and weather-proof revenue. As padel enters its ‘optimisation phase,’ the focus shifts from speed to quality, yield and scalable infrastructure.
The next Monthly Market Tracker – Quarterly Review Event, will take place on 9 April.
To subscribe to Leisure DB’s Monthly Market Report, email jamie@leisuredb.com for more details.
WHAT IS THE MARKET TRACKER?
Each month, Leisure DB’s dedicated research team rounds up key developments in the UK gym market and publishes them in our Monthly Market Tracker. It records a number of activities, from openings/re-openings, closures and planning updates to rebrands, planned projects and proposed management changes. The results offer a monthly snapshot of the state of play in the sector.
Leisure DB hosts quarterly Tracker Review events for industry professionals, where data and insights are presented to attendees.