The growth of London’s boutique fitness market has been nothing short of exponential in recent years. The capital has welcomed 117 new openings since 2015, including a range of home grown brands such as 1Rebel and Psycle, as well as the likes of internationally recognised powerhouses Barry’s Bootcamp and F45.

Powered by the ever increasing consciousness of health and wellbeing, the rise of flexible working and the popularity of social media in raising brand awareness, experience-led fitness studios have become a major player within the wider fitness market, particularly in the UK capital.

Equally, the rise in platforms such as ClassPass allow consumers to take a pick-and-mix approach to fitness, letting them access a range of boutique studios without being locked into a specific membership.

While boutique studios have opened sites in a number of different areas of the city, our recent research has found that the top locations with the greatest number of openings have been those with the highest workforce densities, with the core area of the city accounting for 13.8 per cent of all new openings since 2011.

Similarly, Soho and Fitzrovia have also established themselves as key wellness hotspots, with the two areas making up over 12 per cent of openings, again driven by the high workforce population and also the brand exposure that can be gained from being located near to prominent streets such as Oxford Street and Carnaby Street.

However, while openings in these core areas of London show no sign of slowing down anytime soon, what we are now seeing is that a number of operators, many of which entered the London market through prime city centre locations, are now expanding their presence through opening in the city’s suburbs. By tapping into local residential neighbourhoods, brands are able to broaden their customer base, allowing them to reach customers at varying points throughout the day, rather than predominantly being targeted at city centre workers.

Last year saw premium fitness brand Psycle open a new outpost in Clapham while the US franchise, Orangetheory, opened in Wandsworth with another site planned for Fulham later this year. Additionally, leading barre company, Barrecore, continues its rollout into affluent local neighbourhoods with sites in Hampstead, Wimbledon Village and Islington.

So is this ongoing expansion limited to London? It appears not, with Manchester leading the pack when it comes to the UK’s regional cities. Barry’s Bootcamp made headlines at the end of 2018 when the global fitness brand, often cited as kick-starting the boutique fitness movement in the UK, opened its first studio outside London in Manchester’s Spinningfields. Since then, other operators have joined with BLOK recently opening in the city and Orangetheory opening in Altrincham in the city’s suburbs. 

However, while the boutique fitness market has made an introduction in Manchester, it appears as though other regional cities are yet to see an impact, with London continuing to be the current focus for most operators. Requirements in the city centre are expected to remain but we look forward to welcoming brands to new pockets of the capital as the race for space continues.

Further information

Contact Savills Leisure