PureGym Limited is a British chain of

no-frills A no-frills or no frills service or product is one for which the non-essential features have been removed to keep the price low. The term " frills" originally refers to a style of fabric decoration. Something offered to customers for no additional ...

health club A health club (also known as a fitness club, fitness center, health spa, weight room and commonly referred to as a gym) is a place that houses exercise equipment for the purpose of physical exercise. In recent years, the number of fitness an ...

s, headquartered in

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

. It is Britain's largest gym chain by membership, with over 1,900,000 members registered to their gyms. PureGym also operate gyms in 8 more countries and have over 500 locations worldwide; the newest territory, the UAE, opened in 2022. In May 2015, PureGym acquired all gyms from rival UK fitness chain

LA Fitness Fitness International LLC is a North American gym chain with over 700 clubs across the United States and Canada. The company was founded in 1984 and is based in Irvine, California. History In 1984, the first LA Fitness was founded by founder C ...

, bringing the total number of gyms across the UK to 141. In 2019 an acquisition of Danish chain Fitness World added another approximately 200 centers to the portfolio. As of December 2024, PureGym has 362 gyms in the UK, and 161 in Denmark. Approximately 66% of PureGym's revenue comes from its UK operations.

Facilities

Most locations are open 24 hours a day and offer cardio equipment, fixed and free weights, and exercise classes. There are over 200 pieces of training equipment in most gyms. There are no swimming pools or saunas, which are found in more expensive gyms. For safety, all PureGyms are monitored by real-time CCTV linked directly to security staff and emergency services. They also have AEDs and first aid kits on site. Most gyms also run weekly

fire drill A fire drill is a method of practicing how a building should evacuate in the event of a fire or other emergencies. In most cases, the building's existing fire alarm system is activated and the building is evacuated by means of the nearest avail ...

s during off-peak hours.

Ownership and management

PureGym was privately owned by

CCMP Capital CCMP Capital Advisors, LP is an American private equity investment firm that focuses on leveraged buyout and growth capital transactions. Formerly known as JP Morgan Partners, the investment professionals of JP Morgan Partners separated from JPM ...

and other investors. In 2014, rival

The Gym Group The Gym Group is a chain of 24/7 no contract Health club, fitness clubs in the United Kingdom. The company is headquartered Addiscombe Road in Croydon, London, England. History The company was founded by a squash player, John Treharne, in H ...

attempted to take over PureGym, but abandoned the takeover after it was referred to the

Competition and Markets Authority The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is the principal competition regulator in the United Kingdom. It is a non-ministerial government department in the United Kingdom, responsible for promoting competitive markets and tackling unfair beh ...

. In May 2015, PureGym Ltd bought their UK rival LA Fitness for around £60 million to £80 million. Humphrey Cobbold took over from Peter Roberts as the

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

. Roberts has, in turn, become the CFO, with Adam Bellamy continuing as the non-executive director. In November 2017 it was bought by Los Angeles–based

Leonard Green & Partners Leonard Green & Partners, L.P. (LGP) is an American private equity investment firm founded in 1989 and based in Los Angeles. The firm specializes in private equity investments. LGP has invested in over 95 companies since its inception, including ...

for £600 million. In December 2019 PureGym agreed to buy Danish

Fitness World Fitness may refer to: * Physical fitness, a state of health and well-being of the body * Fitness culture, a sociocultural phenomenon surrounding exercise and physical fitness * Fitness (biology), an individual's ability to propagate its genes * Fi ...

, which also operated in Switzerland and Poland, for £350 million. In February 2021 Humphrey Cobbold told the BBC that "We are burning about £500,000 a day and that's the average over eight months of closure". In 2019, PureGym acquired the Swiss basefit.ch. By the end of 2021, all of their facilities will have been renamed and redesigned It has a 2-star accreditation from Best Companies and a BCI score of 696.6. PureGym opened in Dubai in 2022. PureGym UAE is headed up by CEO Susan Turner, with operations being handled by John Foy.

References

External links

{{commons category, PureGym
PureGym United KingdomPureGym DanmarkPureGym SwissPureGym Arabia, UAEPureGum Arabia, KSA
Health clubs in the United Kingdom Companies based in Leeds British companies established in 2009 2009 establishments in England