Blog
News, views and adventures from The Leisure Database Company team.
Eric Migicovsky, CEO of Pebble, gave a shout out to AiT's beta SwimIO Motion App for Pebble in the article by @sophiecharaar in Stuff Magazine. It's a great article about Pebble's beginnings and future plans so check it out here.
You can find out more about SwimIO on our beta programme mini-site www.swimiomotion.com. If you have a Pebble and love swimming then get involved!
Check out TLDC's director David's article that has just been published in Health Club Management Handbook 2014. David chats about the latest fitness industry trends including a look at the tech fitness market (wearables and apps) and the ecent fitness statistics from both the private and public market. It leads us to wonder how many of us will be taking our fitness tracking devices into the gym this year and expecting everything to link and talk to each other seamlessly. Can the 2 co-exist separately, unlikely..
The 2013 State of the UK Swimming Industry Report reveals that 84.1% of the UK population lives within 2 miles of a public or privately owned swimming pool with some public access.
The 2013 report from independent leisure market analysts The Leisure Database Company concludes that there are 3,296 swimming sites containing 4,670 separate swimming pools in the UK.
The report highlights that the industry has experienced a slight decline with a decrease of 0.5% in the number of swimming sites. In the public sector, however, brand new leisure centres with modern swimming facilities are often built to replace multiple, older standalone swimming sites in the same area. Therefore, despite closing more than one site the quality of overall swimming provision in an area improves, a trend that is likely to continue with 44% of the public swimming stock built pre 1980.
Summary of Key Facts:
There are now 3,296 swimming sites containing 4,670 separate swimming pools in the UK.
29 new public and private swimming sites opened in the 12 month period ending 31st March 2013.
15% of all swimming pools are located in the South East region.
Public pay and play swim fees have increased by 3% over the last 12 months.
31 sports centres in the UK contain an Olympic sized indoor pool (50m) in the UK.
Commenting on the figures, David Minton, Director of The Leisure Database Company said: “With swimming being the most popular sport in the UK, this report is invaluable in providing key intelligence about our swimming pool facilities to ensure the future growth of the market meets the high participation levels we are experiencing”.
The 2013 State of the UK Fitness Industry Report reveals that the UK health and fitness industry has grown its total market value by 1.5% to £3.92 billion over the twelve month period to the end of March 2013.
The 2013 report highlights that the industry has experienced improved growth in the last twelve months with increases of 1.5% in value, 2% in the number of fitness facilities and a 4.5% rise in the number of members, according to independent leisure market analysts The Leisure Database Company.
Now in the middle of a recessionary period, the fitness sector is still expanding despite the economic slowdown. Since 2009, the fitness industry has grown its total market value by 4%, the member base by 8.3% and the number of fitness facilities by 3.9%.
The growth in the industry has been driven by strong performance from both private and public fitness facilities but especially from the rapidly growing private low cost market. The private low cost sector saw significant growth across the three key performance indicators - number of clubs, member numbers and total market value. This rapidly expanding market now accounts for 6% of the total number of private clubs, 6% of the private market value and an impressive 14% of the private sector membership. However this growth comes at a price; as the low cost operators are having an impact on both average monthly membership fees and the yield per member across the industry.
Summary of Key Facts:
Total Market Value (public and private sectors combined) is estimated at £3.92 billion, up 1.5% on 2012.
12.6% of the UK population are now registered as members of a private health and fitness club or a publicly-owned fitness facility contrasting with 12.1% in the previous year.
Total industry membership base is the strongest growth indicator, up 4.5% to 7.9 million over the past 12 months.
167 new public and private fitness facilities opened in the 12 month period ending 31st March 2013, up from 163 in 2012, 149 in 2011 and 122 in 2010.
There are now 6,019 fitness facilities in the UK, up from 5,900 last year.
Commenting on the figures, David Minton, Director of The Leisure Database Company said: ‘’Despite another year of economic slowdown the fitness industry is continuing to stand strong with both private and public fitness sectors showing record numbers of members, fitness facilities and total market value with the UK penetration rate hitting an all time high of 12.6%”.
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