PureGym Scales up in the US

PureGym is going global.

What’s happening: The low-cost British gym chain is expanding across the US and Canada. Branded “Pure Fitness” in North America, a partnership with RCS Real Estate Advisors will build on its three existing Washington DC-based sites.

Counting 595 clubs and 1.9M members in the UK, Europe, Middle East and US, Pure Fitness will leverage the franchise model that enabled PureGym Arabia to reach 19 sites since 2021.

COVID comeback. The post-pandemic fitness market is back on track, with desire for preventative care driving healthy growth on both sides of the Atlantic.

• The European fitness market grew 66% to ~€28B in 2022 and could top 100M members by 2030.
• US gym revenue hit $37.5B in 2022 and is slated to reach $45.4B by 2027.
• Estimated at $4.6B, the South American fitness market is on pace to surpass $7.5B by 2029.

Growth Mode

The cost-of-living crisis in Europe and persistent high prices in the Americas are providing fertile ground for HVLP (high-value, low-price) gyms to extend their reach, often in clusters.

In Europe, Basic-Fit acquired RSG Spain’s 42 McFIT clubs to scale its ~1.4K-site network with 3.3M members. The Gym Group is adding 10–12 clubs to its 233 UK portfolio. And US brand Anytime Fitness is expanding in France and Austria, adding to 5K+ global locations.

Stateside, Crunch Fitness, which will eclipse 500 gyms this year, and EoS Fitness are chasing Planet Fitness, whose 2.4K-franchise business could soon extend to Europe.

In LatAm, Brazil-born Smart Fit reported an annual growth rate of 32% between 2011 (55 clubs) and 2023 (1.2K clubs) and is taking on Planet Fitness in Mexico and McFIT in Spain.

Takeaway: Targeting the 78% of Americans who don’t belong to a gym – and 45% of Europeans who don’t exercise – low-cost gyms provide low-friction memberships. And PureGym’s franchise operation, with variable-priced plans, is well-positioned to serve members in the US and beyond.