A craze for ‘holistic’ health pursuits such as yoga, Tai Chi and spirit dance has pushed memberships to record levels at the upmarket David Lloyd clubs.
The Hertfordshire-based group, which has 134 health clubs across Britain and Europe, has notched up 800,000 members, largely thanks to the trend for mindfulness and meditation rather than pumping iron.
For the first time, more of its members are signing up for holistic classes than gruelling high-energy sessions.
Mind-and-body sessions include sound meditation, which aims to help people relax using soothing reverberations from crystal bowls and ocean drums, along with ecstatic dance meditation.
Broad reach: Yoga classes at David Lloyd are more popular than ever
David Lloyd saw turnover up 12 per cent in the first three months of this year to £233 million
This, along with spa retreats, helped drive turnover up by 12 per cent in the first three months of this year to £233 million.
Profit was up too as earnings before tax jumped 29 per cent to £68 million.
The boom in demand for well-being activities such as yoga comes as younger generations spend more than ever on mental and physical health.
‘Wellness products are increasingly popular with members of all ages,’ says boss Russell Barnes. He added that they are particularly appealing to Generation Z, those born between 1997 and 2012, and Millennials, those born between 1981 and 1996.
David Lloyd is also drawing in players of sociable racket sports such as padel and pickleball.
Surging sales and profit come as David Lloyd’s owner, private equity group TDR Capital, explores options for the business after previous attempts to sell.
TDR, which also owns the supermarket chain Asda, is reportedly mulling whether to transfer David Lloyd from one of its funds to another while bringing in new investors. Such a deal could value the group at up to £2.3 billion.
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