Boutique fitness market steps up London expansion
The boutique fitness market in London is continuing its rapid expansion, reports international real estate advisor Savills, with 29 new sites opening in 2019 and a number of high profile openings lined up for this year, including US indoor cycling phenomenon SoulCycle in Chelsea and Marylebone and global fitness brand F45, which recently opened a new studio in Soho with another site planned for King’s Road later this year.
According to Savills research, the firm reports that while boutique gyms and fitness studios have seen 117 new openings since 2015, operators are still continuing to expand and open new sites. Furthermore, the firm goes on to report that despite the continued growth, there are still a number of London submarkets that are undersupplied, with certain pockets of the city only offering a small number of studios despite having a large population and employee market.
To date, the top locations in Central London for boutique gyms have been those with the highest workforce densities, with the core area of the city accounting for 13.8% of all new openings since 2011. Likewise, Savills has also identified Soho and Fitzrovia as key hotspots, with the two areas making up 12.3% of openings collectively since 2011, again driven by the high workforce population and also by the brand exposure offered by prominent sites in key locations.
Savills notes that while these core areas of London remain a key focus for expanding operators, a number of brands are now looking to new parts of the city for opportunities. Clusters of boutique gyms are beginning to emerge in both the White City/Shepherd’s Bush and Angel/Islington areas, largely facilitated by new developments, with both Third Space and Barrecore opening sites in Islington in 2019. Additionally, a number of operators are now also looking to affluent local neighbourhoods, with Psycle having opened outposts in Clapham and Westbourne Grove last year. Looking ahead to this year, global fitness brand F45 has plans for three wider London sites, with openings planned for East Greenwich, Wimbledon, Highgate and Clapham.
Despite the expansion, Savills reports that there are still a number of opportunistic areas in Central London that currently appear to be undersupplied. Midtown and Southbank are home to just five and seven sites respectively, equating to a provision of 0.19 and 0.17 per 10,000 people (including both residents and workers). In contrast, Soho has a provision score six times greater at 1.12.
David Bell, head of international leisure at Savills, comments: “The boutique fitness market has seen rapid growth in the last few years, with the City Core and Soho/Fitzrovia areas firmly identifying themselves as the key hotspots within the city. However, as the market continues to grow, brands are beginning to explore new parts of the city, and we expect that areas close to new developments or in local affluent neighbourhoods will see a rise in the number of openings, with undersupplied areas providing significant opportunity for brands looking to expand.”
Josh Arnold, commercial research analyst at Savills, adds: “An increasing awareness of health and wellbeing has supported the extensive growth of the gym and leisure sector across London, unlocking new opportunities for both international operators looking to enter the London market as well as providing a platform for exciting, new home-grown brands.”
