David Lloyd Leisure (DLL), has announced that it has acquired three clubs from Spanish fitness group Áccura and is also set to open a new premium club in north-west London in Spring 2022.
These acquisitions will bring the total number of David Lloyd Clubs to 126 across nine European countries, as it seeks further growth opportunities.
The three clubs in Spain are in Barcelona, Málaga and Zaragoza, and the David Lloyd Leisure Group now operates a total number of five clubs in Spain; the operator already has two clubs in Aravaca, Madrid and Turó, Barcelona and has plans to expand yet further across Spain.
Following its latest acquisition, it plans to invest EUR 9 million to refurbish the clubs and firmly position the brand as Spain’s leading premium fitness groups.
The clubs’ 153 employees will join David Lloyd Leisure’s 10,000 team members who work at the group’s existing clubs across Europe.
At the same time, DLL announces that it is opening a new premium club in north-west London in Spring 2022.
Ambitious plans are already underway to redevelop the site which is set to be vacated by its current operator next month.
The club, which will be named David Lloyd Cricklewood Lane will offer a wide range of market-leading fitness, spa and wellness facilities which have proved to be a success at David Lloyd Leisure’s clubs across the UK and mainland Europe.
Work starts at the site in January, and the club will reopen in Spring with the full refurbishment completed by late Summer 2022.
Since reopening in April 2021, DLL has experienced unprecedented levels of sales, bouncing back to its pre-pandemic membership levels of 660,000 by July and it expects to end 2021 with 5% more members than it had at the beginning of the health crisis in March 2020.
The rapid bounce back and unprecedented business growth has in part been fueled by inevitable pent-up demand experienced by the industry as a whole.
However, David Lloyd Clubs’ breadth and depth of family-friendly lifestyle facilities, plus their suburban locations, has also driven the uplift, supporting the shift in lifestyles to hybrid working and less commuting which has seen a boom in people looking to join health clubs closer to their homes.
As the world returns to normal after the pandemic, DLL continues to look for further expansion opportunities across Spain and the rest of Europe, including acquisitions and new build sites.
Over the last few years, the business has experienced significant growth, increasing its club count from 90 to 125 in the last five years.
It is now Europe’s number one health and fitness operator by revenue, with over 700,000 members. In 2020 it acquired the Meridian Spa Group which operates eight health and wellness clubs in Germany, plus Country Club Geneva in Switzerland.
Glenn Earlam, Executive Chairman, David Lloyd Leisure commented: “The pandemic initially forced us to slow our growth plans, but it also brought with it many new opportunities for acquisition.
The addition of these four new clubs, plus two new builds underway in the UK at Bicester in Oxfordshire and Shawfair in Edinburgh demonstrates our ambitious growth plans are back on track.
“David Lloyd Leisure has experienced unprecedented growth in membership over the last six months, as people prioritise their health and fitness after the pandemic.
Indications are there a bright long-term future for our business, and once again we can look to the future with confidence.”
To find out more about David Lloyd Leisure visit www.davidlloyd.co.uk