David Lloyd ended 2025 with a record 822,000 members across 137 clubs, and its profits rose by a fifth. The premium operator’s growth is being driven by padel, spas and recovery. For personal trainers, it represents a very different market from the budget gyms.

David Lloyd Leisure is the UK’s best-known premium health club operator. Its clubs combine gyms with pools, tennis, padel, spas and family facilities, and its members pay well above budget-gym prices.

This guide pulls together the company’s latest published figures. Most come from its trading statements for 2025 and 2024, which are company-published and unaudited. Revenue and headcount come from its statutory accounts, as summarised from Companies House. Employer data comes from the government’s gender pay gap service.

David Lloyd at a glance

Sources: David Lloyd Leisure trading statements, 27 February 2026 and 14 February 2025.

Members

David Lloyd ended 2025 with a record 822,000 members, a net gain of 37,000, or 4.7%, on the previous year. That followed 785,000 at the end of 2024 and 755,000 at the end of 2023.

These totals include members in Europe, not just the UK. The trading statements do not give a UK-only figure.

On the group-wide figures, the average David Lloyd club had about 6,000 members at the end of 2025, by our calculation. That is far larger than a typical budget gym. It reflects the size of the clubs and the family memberships they sell.

Clubs

At the end of 2025 the company operated 137 clubs: 108 in the UK and 29 elsewhere in Europe. It opened four new clubs during the year, including one at Boadilla in Spain. A year earlier it had 133 clubs, 105 of them in the UK.

How members use the clubs

David Lloyd publishes unusually detailed usage data.

• Visits: Members made 62.3 million visits in 2025, up 8.5% on the previous year.
• Frequency: That works out at 6.5 visits per member per month, according to the company.
• Satisfaction: The company reported a Net Promoter Score of +44 for 2025. In 2024 it reported its highest-ever member experience score, at 84%.
• Digital: The David Lloyd app had 530,000 monthly active users and handled 1.8 million class bookings a month.

Chief executive Russell Barnes said: “We saw record levels of usage across our clubs.”

Financial performance

David Lloyd’s adjusted EBITDA, a measure of underlying operating profit, rose 21% to £280.9 million in 2025, from £231 million in 2024. The 2024 figure itself was up 33% on the year before.

The trading statement does not give group revenue. The accounts for the main UK company, David Lloyd Leisure Limited (Companies House number 01516226), show:

These figures come from a third-party summary of the filed accounts and are rounded. Accounts for 2025 had been filed but were not yet summarised at the time of writing.

On financing, the company completed a £1,295 million refinancing of its senior secured notes in 2025. It ended the year with £237 million of available liquidity, up from £134 million, helped by sale and leaseback proceeds.

Padel: the fastest-growing part of the business

Padel, a racquet sport that combines elements of tennis and squash, is David Lloyd’s biggest growth story.

In February 2025 the company described itself as the “biggest Padel operator in the UK”, with 66 courts across 27 clubs. By December 2025 it had 253 courts across its estate, 169 of them in the UK. That is nearly four times as many in a single year. It plans to add 87 more courts at 20 clubs during 2026.

Spas, recovery and the premium strategy

Alongside padel, David Lloyd is investing heavily in wellness and recovery.

• Spa retreats: It has 52 spa retreats, 16 of which include outdoor cold-water plunge pools.
• Recovery technology: Hydro-massage and cryotherapy are live in 11 UK clubs and five European clubs, with eight more planned by the end of 2026.
• Upgrades: It completed 14 “premiumisation” projects in 2025, nine of them spa retreats. It plans 16 more in 2026, including 12 spa retreats.

The strategy is clear: give members more reasons to visit, stay longer and pay a premium.

Plans for 2026

David Lloyd’s trading statement sets out its investment plans for 2026:

• Padel: 87 new courts at 20 clubs.
• Premiumisation: 16 projects, including 12 spa retreats and four other upgrades.
• Recovery: hydro-massage and cryotherapy at eight more clubs by the end of 2026.
• Club transformation: a full transformation of its Shrewsbury club, due in spring 2026.

The board said it “remains confident in the outlook for FY26 and beyond.”

The UK company in numbers

David Lloyd Leisure Limited, the main UK company, grew its turnover by about 14% in 2024, from £630 million to £717 million, by our calculation from its accounts. Its workforce grew by about 5%, from 5,475 to 5,773 employees. It swung from a pre-tax loss of £17 million in 2023 to a profit of £55 million in 2024.

That works out at turnover of roughly £124,000 per employee in 2024, by our calculation.

David Lloyd as an employer

David Lloyd Leisure Limited reports its gender pay gap to the government. Its report for the 2025 to 2026 reporting year, based on a snapshot of staff on 5 April 2025, showed:

• a median hourly pay gap of 11.3% in favour of men;
• 16.0% of women and 20.0% of men receiving bonus pay;
• women making up 62.9% of the lowest-paid quarter of staff and 46.6% of the highest-paid quarter.

The company is in the 5,000 to 19,999 employee size band.

Working as a personal trainer at David Lloyd

The trading statements do not discuss personal training. Job listings show that David Lloyd recruits self-employed personal trainers at its clubs. Terms, including any fees and the support offered, are not published centrally and may vary by club. Anyone interested should ask the club directly.

What the numbers mean for aspiring personal trainers

David Lloyd’s figures point to a different kind of opportunity from the budget chains.

Fewer, larger clubs. With 108 UK clubs and around 6,000 members per club across the group, each site has a large, established membership base.

Clients who spend. Premium members already pay for spas, recovery treatments and racquet sports. That suggests a market that may be more willing to pay for personal training too.

Engaged members. At 6.5 visits per member per month, members are in the club regularly, which gives trainers more chances to build relationships.

Specialisms that fit the strategy. Racquet sports, recovery and wellness are where David Lloyd is investing. Trainers with skills in mobility, injury prevention, strength for racquet sports or work with older and family clients may find those skills in demand.

Fewer sites. The trade-off is scale. David Lloyd has far fewer UK clubs than budget operators such as PureGym, so there are fewer locations to choose from.

Growth over three years

David Lloyd’s published figures show steady growth:

• Members: 755,000 at the end of 2023, 785,000 at the end of 2024 and 822,000 at the end of 2025. That is a rise of 67,000, or about 9%, over two years, by our calculation.
• Clubs: 133 at the end of 2024 and 137 at the end of 2025.
• Profit: Adjusted EBITDA rose 33% in 2024 to £231 million, then 21% in 2025 to £280.9 million.
• Usage: In 2024 the company reported more than 1.1 million club visits a week, with weekly attendance up 7.8%. In 2025, total visits rose 8.5% to 62.3 million.

How David Lloyd compares

The figures are reported on different bases, so they are not precise like-for-like comparisons. But they show the difference in model. PureGym has more than four times as many UK sites as David Lloyd, while David Lloyd’s clubs are much larger, with around 6,000 members each across the group.

Questions to ask before becoming a PT at David Lloyd

Because David Lloyd does not publish its personal trainer terms, it is worth asking the club:

• Is the role employed or self-employed? And what does that mean for pay, rent or commission?
• What fees or targets apply? Ask how they change as you build a client base.
• How many trainers already work at the club?
• Are there opportunities linked to padel, racquet sports, spa or recovery services? These are the areas David Lloyd is investing in.
• What training or development does the club offer?

Frequently asked questions

How many David Lloyd clubs are there in the UK?

108 at the end of 2025, out of 137 in total. The other 29 are elsewhere in Europe.

How many members does David Lloyd have?

A record 822,000 at the end of 2025, including members in Europe. The company does not publish a UK-only figure in its trading statements.

Is David Lloyd growing?

Yes, steadily. Membership rose 4.7% in 2025 and visits rose 8.5%. It opened four clubs, including one in Spain, and its padel estate nearly quadrupled. The company’s growth is coming more from getting existing members to use and spend more than from opening large numbers of new sites.

How many padel courts does David Lloyd have?

253 across its estate at December 2025, including 169 in the UK. It plans to add 87 more at 20 clubs in 2026.

How often do David Lloyd members visit?

The company reports an average of 6.5 visits per member per month in 2025. Across the year, members made 62.3 million visits. Dividing visits by year-end members gives about 76 visits per member a year, by our calculation, consistent with the company’s monthly figure.

That is broadly similar to PureGym, where 164 million visits across 2.28 million members works out at about 72 visits per member a year, by the same rough method. The difference between the two chains is less about how often members visit and more about what they do and spend while they are there.

How many people work for David Lloyd?

David Lloyd Leisure Limited, the main UK company, had 5,773 employees in 2024, according to its accounts. It is in the 5,000 to 19,999 size band for gender pay gap reporting. Self-employed personal trainers are not counted as employees.

Does David Lloyd hire personal trainers?

Yes. Job listings during 2026 included self-employed personal trainer roles at David Lloyd clubs. The terms are not published centrally, so ask the club.

Is David Lloyd profitable?

Its adjusted EBITDA, a measure of underlying operating profit, was £280.9 million in 2025. Its main UK company, David Lloyd Leisure Limited, reported a pre-tax profit of £55 million in 2024, after a loss of £17 million in 2023.

The bottom line

David Lloyd ended 2025 with a record 822,000 members, 137 clubs and adjusted EBITDA up 21% to £280.9 million. Its padel courts nearly quadrupled in a year, and it continues to invest in spas and recovery.

For personal trainers, it represents the premium end of the market: fewer, larger clubs, engaged members and a focus on wellness. That can suit trainers who want to work with clients willing to invest in themselves, especially those with skills that match the company’s direction in racquet sports, recovery and wellness. As with any club, ask about the terms before you commit.

Sources

David Lloyd Leisure FY2025 trading statement — 27 February 2026
David Lloyd Leisure FY2024 trading statement — 14 February 2025 Spark Intel: David Lloyd Leisure Limited accounts summary (Companies House 01516226) — accounts to December 2024
GOV.UK gender pay gap service: David Lloyd Leisure Limited — 2025-26 reporting year
Pinnacle Bidco plc (PureGym) Annual Report 2025 — April 2026
Pinnacle Bidco plc (PureGym) Annual Report 2024 — 2025
Brait PLC Integrated Annual Report FY2026 (Virgin Active section) — July 2026
Breakroom: David Lloyd Leisure, Personal Trainer (self-employed) listing — July 2026