04 Jun 2018
David Lloyd Leisure enters German market with acquisition of Health City club
BY Tom Walker
Health club operator David Lloyd Leisure (DLL) has expanded its operations into Germany, following the acquisition of a HealthCity-branded club in Bad Homburg, near Frankfurt.
The DLL plans to invest more than €10m (US$11.7m, £8.8m) in refurbishing, rebranding and developing the site, as part of plans to "making it the leading health and fitness club in the region".
Works will include the complete refurbishment of the gym, two group exercise studios and cafébar, as well as building new indoor and outdoor swimming pools, a HIIT class studioBlaze, an outdoor spa garden and terrace, wet changing rooms, adults only and business zones, a children’s soft play area and DL Kids facilities.
In addition, the spa, indoor changing rooms and indoor tennis courts will be completely refurbished.
Following the deal, DLL will have 15 clubs in mainland Europe – with locations in Holland, Belgium, Spain, Ireland, Italy, France and now Germany – in addition to its 99 clubs in the UK.
The acquisition also means DLL has the now passed its 600,000 member milestone.
According to DLL chief executive Glenn Earlam, the company will continue to look for expansion opportunities "across Europe", including acquisitions and new build sites.
“We believe that there is a huge untapped market for family-focused health and leisure clubs in Germany, so we hope our acquisition of Bad Homburg will be the first of many DLL clubs in this market," Earlam said.
"It’s the latest step in our ambitious European growth plans as we continue to look to expand into our existing territories of Spain, Holland, Belgium, Ireland and Italy as well as breaking into other new markets.
“2018 promises to be another busy year for David Lloyd Leisure as we line up further acquisitions and we are well on track to achieve our target of 150 clubs by 2026.”
The completion of the deal comes in the same week as the company reopened its Acton Park club in West London, following a £9m (US$12m, €10.2m) investment to transform the existing facilities.
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