"The fitness industry is facing an identity crisis," was Anna Bjustam's opening statement as she addressed delegates at the HCM Summit 2025 in London this afternoon.

The Six Senses strategic advisor went on to say: “Longevity, whether you like it or not, is here to stay. We're living longer but not living one year healthier and this needs to be addressed. The next frontier for the industry has to be health optimisation.”

Bjurstam highlighted four business models for fitness operators to consider when integrating longevity. From entry-level longevity-informed clubs offering enhanced programming such as strength training for bone density and balance/mobility, up to integrated longevity hubs with a dedicated medical clinic alongside fitness and spa.

Operators she spotlighted included Sparkd – a brain and fitness hub in Singapore based on activities that simultaneously enhance cognitive health and fitness – and Six Senses Place, a new social wellness/longevity membership club due to open at The Whitelely in London in February.

Bjurstam also said: "The way people are experiencing fitness is evolving – today, people are joining gyms because they want better mental health not just physical exercise. Your competitor isn't the gym down the street – it's Prozac and mindless scrolling. The fitness industry needs change with this and there's a lot it can do – from looking at breathwork, to biohacking and multisensory experiences to make that shift.”

Following Bjurstam, Martin Seibold – LifeFit Group CEO – was interviewed on stage by HCM editor, Liz Terry.

The company operates 197 clubs in Germany (2 per cent of the country’s clubs). Seventy seven per cent of the clubs – Fitness First Red – contribute 61 per cent of EBITDA and 23 per cent of clubs – the premium Fitness First Black – contribute 39 per cent of EBITDA.

Built up as a multi-brand company, LifeFit Group is now bringing all of its clubs under the Fitness First brand.

“There are a lot of costs with having many different brands, such as different marketing, different product managers and regional management teams, so rebranding to Fitness First takes the complexity out of the business, which can then be reinvested,” says Seibold.

LifeFit Group is currently pursuing robust growth through M&A and Seibold says there is a lot of white space in Germany to fill in. He spoke about the staffing challenges this involves – 70 per cent of the general managers leave within six months of being acquired and much of the team then follow suit. LifeFit is responding by having general managers trained up and ready to take over.

Seibold also talked about the culture of celebrating mistakes: “At our management meetings we talk about what mistakes have been made in the last week and what can be learned from them.”

Managing partner in L Catterton’s flagship buyout fund, Marc Magliacano – who manages US$35 billion of capital – gave his insights into what private equity investors are looking for in partners.

"Wellness is not a winner takes all," he said. "Integrated offerings from trusted brands will be best positioned for success." The future, he expanded, is about tech-enabled eco-systems that use AI to deliver personalised, holistic health solutions. Rather than fragmented apps and services, consumers increasingly want one trusted brand that connects fitness, recovery, nutrition and diagnostics into a seamless experience – platforms such as EGYM are leading the way in this field.

Magliacano also emphasised a major shift from aesthetics to strength, resilience and longevity – particularly among women. Strength training, reformer Pilates, supplements and medi-spas are all experiencing rapid growth as wellness becomes a lifestyle rather than a luxury.

With more than US$700 billion being invested in the wellness sector, L Catterton is prioritising scalable models, differentiation and long-term consumer loyalty. "The party's not over, it's just getting started," said Magliacano. "Eighty per cent of people now prioritise their wellness, up from 50 per cent last year, but consumers want more from you, they want to feel empowered and need the offering to be authentic."

In a rare public industry appearance, David Lloyd Leisure CEO, Russell Barnes, took to the stage describing himself as the “warm-up man for Angela Rippon.”

Barnes gave a history of Europe’s largest health and racquets chain which was founded in 1982 by former British tennis player, David Lloyd. The chain currently has 134 clubs, with three clubs set to open in the UK in the next few weeks. Operational in nine countries, the chain currently has 820,000 members, is the UK’s largest padel operator and turns over £1 billion a year.

Private equity-owned by TDR Capital since 2013, DLL has quadrupled profits and doubled the size of the estate during this time.

“We remain an ambitious company in terms of footprint, expansion and premiumisation,” said Barnes. “We now have 50 spas across the estate and are continuing the rollout – the core business has been transformed from posh tennis club to an international wellness brand. We have spent time and energy thinking about what wellness means to us and therefore our members and consumers.”

The premiumisation has involved creating beautifully-designed environments throughout the clubs – the reformer Pilates studios, the locker rooms, the clubrooms and the outdoor space – in order to encourage longer dwell times.

“We sit at the premium end and we only want to get more premium,” says Barnes. “The future for us is more of the same. Beautifully designed clubs, with a feeling of luxury and premium touchpoints so our members want to spend as much time as possible in and around them.”

Barnes also talked about the importance of providing value for money. Despite introducing above-inflation price increases, David Lloyd Leisure’s value for money score was higher this September than last September: “We have to be confident about how we price our business. We invest all our cashflow back into our clubs and we have to continue to push our price to make returns and support the premium positioning, so we have to be obsessed with value for money, we measure it relentlessly.”

Eighty-one-year-old broadcasting legend, Angela Rippon, exploded onto the stage against the backdrop of a film showing her doing the splits on Strictly Come Dancing and energised the room.

“I believe in dying young as late as possible,” she said, as she went on to make a strong case for dancing as being the best form of exercise. She wants to see dance on the programme in every gym in the country.

"Dance has been overlooked and undervalued for too long," she said. "All the evidence-based research that's been done over the years - 30,000 pieces of it – all show that dance is the best exercise you can do."

Recently, research released by Frontiers of Ageing analysed dancers and gym goers aged 60-90 over a six-month period. Getting them to workout to the same music and measuring myriad metrics from heart rate to lung capcity and strength. "The endurance, strength, coordination and memory were all greater in the dancers at the end of those six months," she revealed.

"It's not just your physical health, however. It's been recently discovered that dance is also unbelievably beneficial to people with Parkinsons and some amazing research is also being done showing how dance can help reduce the pain and improve the speed of recovery in people with cancer."

"Another thing about dance is that you have fun," she said. "It's a great way of making friends and you won't feel isolated. And it's something that can done at any age. You may go to the gym in your 40s and 50s, but when you're in your 60s, 70s and 80s, dance is the one thing you can do to keep fit because it's adaptable.

"That's why I'm here to persuade all of you to do something different, offering more people the opportunity to come into your gyms."

Rippon instructed everyone to dance to the tea break which was hosted by Rituals, the high street beauty retailer which is moving into the wellness market with its Mind Oasis concept.

Following the break, Juan del Río, CEO of Spanish aspirational low-cost operator, VivaGym Group – which will have more than 270 sites by the end of the year – spoke about the company’s ethos, impressive expansion and private equity deal with Providence last year.

Europe is a highly fragmented market where the top 20 operators represent 10 per cent of the total clubs and 26 per cent of the members. Iberia is the fourth largest European market with a population of almost 60 million (49 million in Spain and 10 million in Portugal).

VivaGym was founded in 2011 and was bolstered in 2018 by the acquisition of 27 Fitness Hut gyms in Portugal. Last year was busiest to date when it was acquired by Providence Equity Partners and then went on to buy Smartfit, Macrofit, Altafit and FitUp bringing the estate to 224 clubs, including 72 gyms in Madrid alone.

“We buy everything that moves. You can change any brand if you do it the right way,” says del Río. “And in three to five years we want to consolidate leadership in Iberia, with 25-50 organic openings each year and opportunistic M&A strategy.”

Neil Randall, CEO of Urban Gym Group, spoke about how fitness clubs have evolved beyond just physical training: "Maybe the pandemic gave us all a kick up the backside. It made consumers think more about their health. It made operators completely rethink how we grow for the future.

"We've become vital centres for health optimisation and it's super important to understand that's how we remain relevant and bring new investment into the sector. But most of all – it's incredibly important that we deliver quality and we deliver value. No matter where you are in our market.

"The opportunities that we have ahead of us are huge and they're also very meaningful. What I'd ask you today is to join me in helping us grow as a global industry - we have a great wind behind us and its time to make it count."

The Summit concluded with a fireside chat between HCM editor and Leisure Media CEO Liz Terry and Humphrey Cobbold, chair of Puregym – who has been a fantastic chair of the HCM Summit – before delegates headed off to the After Party, hosted by Les Mills.

The Leisure Media team would like to thank all the speakers, sponsors, exhibitors, nutrition partners and delegates for playing their part in hosting a great event which showcases innovation, shares best practice, inspires and drive the industry forward.

Next year’s HCM Summit will take place in the same venue, London’s Queen Elizabeth II Centre, on 22 December. It will be preceded by HCM Invest, a new networking event designed to introduce investors and operators.

Register your interest in HCM Invest at HCMinvest.live