Hot Locations – Anytime Fitness
Published: 23 January 2024
Arguably the most important part of any retail, hospitality or leisure franchise is the finding the right location.
The past few years have opened up a wealth of new property opportunities for franchisees and, alongside its property partners, Anytime Fitness is helping pinpoint perfect locations for new gym openings with 'Hot Locations’, a brand-new data-driven approach to identifying the places with the most potential to deliver return on investment for its franchisees.
Hot Locations considers a wealth of data to determine the probability of the target population
in that area becoming Anytime Fitness members and helps franchisees take the guesswork out of choosing a location – while there may be an area that looks great on paper, there could be numerous determining factors that mean it would never get off the ground.
This data includes the size and population of the area, its demographics compared to existing Anytime Fitness members, social grading and the presence of existing retail businesses to name but a few. Upon reviewing this data, a location and its immediate 5-mile radius are given a score and only if it reaches a certain threshold, will Anytime Fitness consider this location to have potential.
“Location is integral to operating a successful gym and Hot Locations is a huge step forward” says Daniel Penn, Head of Network Development at Anytime Fitness UK. “The most important thing to us is return on investment for our franchisees ... this wealth of data at our fingertips will allow us greater confidence in our decision making when advising franchisees on potential gym locations.
“The combination of this data and the experience of operating over 180 gyms across the UK and Ireland gives us a great pipeline of gym openings. We’re already seeing new and existing franchisees lock in some of these locations, such is their confidence in the quality of the data and advice that we’re providing.”
Something this data has reinforced is the ongoing impact of the ‘donut effect’ – the increased spending and relocation numbers to suburban areas outside of larger city centres. Trading Anytime Fitness clubs in these areas have had a 19% increase in turnover in the first three months of 2023, compared to the same period in 2022. In addition, member spend increased by 14% and average visits per month rose by 9%.
These suburban areas present a wealth of opportunities for the leisure industry. Properties are increasingly available in high footfall locations such as retail centres and high streets. and therefore greater scope for franchisees to open gyms in the heart of these ‘Hot Locations’ and set themselves up for success.
“Our industry’s recovery in the past two years has put us in a stronger position than ever with landlords, who see the benefits and long-term stability of gym operators,” added Dan. “With hybrid working here to stay, suburban locations are a fantastic opportunity and given the population’s increased consideration to their health and wellbeing, there is significant demand for gyms in these locations.”
Hot Locations will consistently be reviewed and added, giving franchisees regular access to up-to-date information about where to invest.
Further strengthening its property offering, Anytime Fitness partners with real estate services providers, Savills and CBRE. Their extensive experience of commercial real estate enables them to pinpoint these Hot Locations with Anytime Fitness, helping to identify suitable properties in these locations, as well as helping to negotiate favourable rental terms with landlords.
For more information on Hot Locations and Anytime Fitness' franchise opportunities, visit the profile page>>
