Basic-Fit Grows Revenue, Tops 4 Million Members as European Gyms Flourish
The HVLP operator acquired 42 McFit clubs in Spain, which will be rebranded to Basic-Fit by the beginning of September
Basic-Fit, one of Europe’s fastest-growing high-value, low-price (HVLP) gym chains, reported a 17% increase in revenue to €585 million ($633 million) and membership growth of 13% to 4.1 million in the first half of 2024, reflecting the energy of the European fitness market.
The Netherlands-based fitness chain also announced record net club growth of 135 to 1,537 clubs and the completed acquisition of 47 RSG Group Spain clubs, five of which have since been sold, leaving 42 McFit locations that will become part of Basic-Fit.
For its 2024 outlook, Basic-Fit expects to grow its club network to around 1,575 clubs and projects revenue between €1.20 billion and €1.25 billion, with average revenue per member per month increasing to at least €24.50.
Rene Moos, Basic-Fit CEO, said the fitness chain is making inroads in converting the 42 McFit clubs acquired in Spain to the Basic-Fit brand and expects the rebrand to be completed by the start of September.
Although the RSG Spain acquisition and a high number of club openings weighed on cash flow and profitability in the first half of the year, Moos says the remainder of 2024 will be fruitful.
“This trend will reverse in the second half of the year, during which we will open a limited number of clubs, and the clubs opened in the first half of the year will start contributing to the bottom line,” he said. “Despite the impact of the large number of club openings in the first half of the year, we were able to achieve an increase in the underlying EBITDA less rent of 26% to €139 million.”
Moving forward, Moos says Basic-Fit will only look to open new clubs “if we expect to achieve a return on invested capital (ROIC) of at least 30% at maturity.”
Breaking Down the European Gym Landscape
The European fitness market as a whole has seen an increase in revenue and memberships, which have surpassed pre-pandemic levels. There are projected to be 100 million European gym members by 2030, according to a recent joint report from EuropeActive and Deloitte.
Among European health and fitness leaders, the report listed Basic-Fit in the top spot in terms of memberships (then 3.8 million) followed by RSG Group, owner of Gold’s Gym and McFit, (2.0 million) and PureGym (1.9 million).
Basic-Fit also took the number one place in revenue (€1.05 billion), followed by David Lloyd (€854 million) and PureGym (€621 million).
Planet Fitness will soon join the list of European HVLP operators, as the big box fitness franchise plans to open 300 locations in Spain, with its first gym expected to open in Q3 in Sabadell. Planet is exploring other European markets as well.
It’s not just gym operators that are tapping into the fitness enthusiasm — boutique fitness is also starting to surge in Europe.
Boutique Brands Start To Grow
Club Pilates, the world’s largest Pilates brand with over 1,000 locations, is set to grow in Germany, with four studios expected to open this summer, as well as in the Netherlands and Austria.
BodyBase, a Pilates reformer brand based in the Netherlands, is expanding its studio presence with a new franchise model.
