Today we will be diving into the latest report from our strategic partners over at LeisureDB and understanding how their insights can help guide independent fitness facility operators up and down the UK. Following the successful launch of their flagship ‘State of the Industry Report’ earlier in the year, David Minton and company are back with another insightful report into the state of the UK fitness industry.
The “State of the UK Swimming Industry Report 2025” from Leisure DB, the leading independent data specialist for the UK fitness and leisure sector, tells a complex story of an industry at an important crossroad. As a strategic partner of Ashbourne Membership Management, this insightful and highly specialised Industry Report provides invaluable understanding for independent fitness facility owners, management and and those interested in influencing policy within the UK fitness industry.
While the report does not shy away from highlighting the challenges facing the fitness industry, from rising costs in energy and staffing to facility closures, it also reinforces the vital and unique social value of swimming, as well as the innovation emerging in response to these pressures. So without further ado here are our top five takeaways from our strategic partners and their invaluable report.
What will we cover in this article?
(you can also click to skip ahead!)
1. Predicting a Future Crisis
Child swimming proficiency in an era of closing swimming facilities.
Perhaps the most alarming finding of the report relates to the declining swimming capability among children. We lead with this because it isn’t just a statistic, it represents a growing public safety concern and highlights the real impact that the struggles in the fitness industry have on everyday people and their abilities.
It is important for everyone in and related to the fitness industry to remember that these aren’t just numbers, but the lives and opportunities of everyday people up and down the UK.
Jo Talbot, Commercial Director at RLSS UK, provides a stark warning: “Recent data shows a significant decline in the number of children who can confidently swim 25 metres by the end of primary school. In 2017/2018, it was reported that 76.8% of children met this standard. By 2023/2024, it had dropped to 70.2%. This decline signals a serious and growing risk to children”.
This trend, which has its roots firmly planted within the issues the report will deal with later, has tragic consequences. Talbot goes on to say that: “In the last five years, the number of children who have lost their lives to drowning in England has doubled, our sector can help to change this trajectory, but we need to protect the number of swimming pools and prevent more closures.”
And indeed, it is a combination of closures and decreased access to pools that is behind this stark drop in what was once considered a near-universal skill.
The reliance on public facilities for swim education is absolute and it is no doubt a decrease in the accessibility and availability of these facilities that is causing this drop-off. The report details how a Local Government Association Report found that 72% of schools use public pools to deliver their statutory swimming lessons and 85% of young people learn to swim in public pools. This is echoed by Community Leisure UK Data, whose members report more than one million people a year learning to swim in their pools. The message is clear, pool closures directly threaten the next generation’s ability to stay safe in the water.
This is an area where the contribution of independent providers is small but vital. As we will cover in section three, independent swimming pool providers were one of the only sectors that saw growth instead of shrinkage. If this trend continues, independent swimming pool facilities will become more and more vital in the teaching of swimming skills and the prevention of the tragedies that will follow if said skills are not taught.
As we’ve said before, this is one of the many situations where the fitness industry is quite literally able to save lives.
2. The Green Challenge: Decarbonising Our Pools
The push for net zero has placed a spotlight on swimming pools, which are among the most energy-intensive facilities to operate in the UK fitness industry.
Mike Worsnop, Director at Leisure Energy, explains in the report: “The drive towards net zero by 2030 has brought more urgency to this work, and for many operators attention is rightly turning to swimming pools. These are some of the most energy-intensive parts of the leisure estate and often the most challenging to decarbonise.”
The scale of the problem facing all swimming pool providers in the UK is vast but certainly not insurmountable. We have covered in detail how independent gym and fitness club owners can help tackle rising energy costs and many of those same tips and tricks can be applied here.
Worsnop goes on to say, “Most of the UK’s 2,900 public and private pools still rely on fossil fuels for heating, and many are over two decades old.” However, the report also highlights a path forward. “In recent years, we’ve seen a real shift, particularly thanks to the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme. This funding has allowed public sector organisations to go much further by replacing outdated fossil fuel systems with heat pump technology and other renewable solutions. We’ve supported over £100 million worth of successful applications.”
The report points to beacons of innovation like St Sidwell’s Point in Exeter, described by Leisure DB’s own founder and director David Minton as “the world’s first multizonal Passivhaus sports centre,” which has cut energy consumption by an astonishing 70%, improved water quality and halved running costs. Investments in solar panels and other green technologies are proving not just vital to protecting our planet and safeguarding our energy supplies, but also providing short-term financial relief as well as long-term financial security.
3. Stagnation and Struggles for Swimming Pool Operators with Glimmers of Hope for Independents
LeisureDB’s report provides a clear and detailed cross-section of the state of the swimming fitness industry. Given the energy crisis and labour shortages of the last few years, the prevailing story is one of stagnation, particularly in the private sector. Perhaps the most shocking and insightful statistics into the health of the ‘big providers’ is the discovery that of the top 10 private pool operators, including household names like Nuffield Health and David Lloyd Clubs, only one brand new club with a pool opened within the 12 months to the end of March 2025.
This trend is continued when looking at the multi-club statistics, which have seen a 1.1% drop in the number of clubs operating with a pool, down from 885 in 2024 to 875 in 2025. In an all too familiar tale to members of the fitness industry, the same multi-club sample size has increased their average membership fee by 5.4%, pushing the cost onto consumers.
For long-time readers of our blog, it will be unsurprising to hear that the independently operated fitness facilities with pools are showing signs of resilience, with a 1.5% growth in the number of clubs with a pool, up from 398 in 2024 to 404 in 2025. This suggests that smaller independent fitness facilities are able to utilise a more agile approach, relying on their community-focused natures and knowledge of their local areas and membership base to not only survive but thrive.
This matches trends which have been noted time and time again in our series focusing on dynamic fitness facility operators, mostly independent gym and fitness club owners, who continue to buck regional and national economic trends with their agility and resourcefulness.
4. More Than a Pool: The Heart of the Community
Beyond the statistics, LeisureDB is keen to emphasise and articulate the profound social value of swimming pools to the UK fitness industry and the population at large. The State of the Industry report reiterates several times across different interviews that they are considered to be at “the heart of our communities”, offering far more than just a place to swim.
The report states: “Pools are safe, structured environments where children and adults alike can learn life-saving skills. They are vibrant hubs where families connect, friendships are formed and memories are made. For many, swimming pools are a sanctuary, supporting mental wellbeing, social connection and physical activity”.
This value to the community is a fantastic asset that many independent fitness facility owners up and down the UK know only too well. The report concludes that “It is our collective responsibility as developers, operators and policymakers, to protect (and) serve” these vital community assets. Recognising pools as essential infrastructure, not just leisure facilities, is the first step towards reversing their decline.
As a company that has worked with thousands of independent fitness facilities and runs our own, we can agree that whether it is a swimming pool, a gym or a fitness club, independent fitness facilities often find themselves as the beating heart of a community.
5. The Bottom Line: Rising Costs and Pool Attrition
The central challenge and common theme that unites all these issues we have covered together and many others in the report is financial sustainability and the challenges of the current economic climate for fitness facilities in the UK.
Paul Woodford, Strategic Engagement Director at Alliance Leisure, states: “Yet despite this undeniable social value, the number of swimming pools across the UK is in steady decline. The latest industry data shows a net loss of pool sites year after year, a trend we must urgently reverse”.
The economic reality for many of these pools, both public and private, independent and chain, are stark. As LeisureDB’s Swimming Industry Report explains in greater detail later on:
“From the customer’s point of view, value equals perceived benefits minus costs. Few sectors feel that formula more acutely than aquatics. Energy-hungry water, lifeguard rosters and chemical bills place pools well behind other fitness formats on the cost side.”
All of these factors add up, making operational costs a greater and greater part of the formula, as profits shrink. LeisureDB is keen to highlight that along with the usual suspects, a growing and now critical part of these rising costs are related to staffing.
Lou Crossland, Chief Commercial Officer at CoverMe, highlights a major operational headache: “Securing qualified swimming teacher cover, especially at short notice, is one of the most common challenges faced by operators… CoverMe’s research shows that swim school managers typically spend between four to eight hours per week arranging cover, which equates to approximately £5,200 in staff costs per site annually.”
This is compounded by a severe recruitment crisis, with the report noting that “88% of swim school operators are struggling to recruit swimming teachers”.
Despite these headwinds, the report ends on a determined note. David Minton observes that operators are “working hard to do more with less water, meeting demand through innovation, collaboration and determination”. The future of UK swimming depends on scaling this innovation to protect the pools that are so vital to our nation’s health, safety and community spirit.
Conclusion
The findings that have been detailed by our strategic partners over at LeisureDB in their “State of the UK Swimming Industry Report 2025” speak for themselves. After years of economic crisis and in the wake of Covid-19, there is now a series of burgeoning issues within the UK Swimming Pool sector that need to be addressed.
Not only a crisis caused by environmental and green energy pressures and the steady attrition rate of fitness facilities with a pool, but also the resulting issues such as loss of community bastions and child safety risks.
The report reveals an industry trying to understand how its economic model can continue to function in an area where costs are rising and purchasing power and the question of how it operates in an economy where people just earn less.
While the benefits that our swimming pools bring both socially and on a community level are undeniable, it is clear that they are increasingly at odds with the reality of the UK’s economy.
Currently that has resulted in stagnation but the report is keen to state that if untreated, this risks become a permanent decline. Unlike independent gyms and fitness clubs, pool facilities are much more expensive to build and maintain. The number of buildings suitable to house pool facilities is also much more restrictive.
This means that decline could come fast, and any potential resurgence could be slow.The data makes it clear that the status quo is no longer sustainable and that the risk of lasting damage to the UK’s swimming pool infrastructure might be on the horizon.
The report makes it clear that securing the future of the UK’s swimming pools will require innovation and collaboration. The success of independent swimming pool facility owners is a position sign but more is required.
It requires operators to embrace new technologies and for politicians and policymakers alike to recognise pools as vital social infrastructure worthy of support. Much like previous articles where we have advocated for the fitness industry to play an increased role in societal health, the same sentiments are echoed here by LeisureDB.
Their report underscores that this is not just a leisure issue, but a matter of community well-being and national health.
There are no silver-bullet solutions, operating a swimming pool will not magically get cheaper. But by utilising the data, techniques and knowledge outlined in the report and fostering meaningful partnerships within the UK fitness industry, progress can be made and the challenges of the current economic circumstance can be overcome.
The full “State of the UK Swimming Industry Report 2025” is available from Leisure DB here.
As a company that runs our own gyms, we find the output of our strategic partners at LeisureDB to be invaluable as both an operator and a service provider within the fitness industry.
If you are an independent fitness facility operator, whether your facility has a swimming pool or otherwise, we here at Ashbourne Membership Management are keen to offer our strategic expertise and services to independent gym, fitness club and swimming pool owners across the UK and Ireland. As LeisureDB reinforced both in their most recent report and their flagship State of the Industry report, the independent fitness facilities most likely to succeed in 2025 and beyond are the ones that embrace new technologies to improve both staff efficiency and the member experience.
This is where Ashbourne’s Club Management software comes in. With twenty five years of experience in the fitness industry, we’ve helped gyms, fitness clubs, leisure centres and swimming facilities adapt and innovate across decades. If you are a fitness facility owner that values data, efficiency and security, Ashbourne can pick up where our partners at Leisure DB left off. Follow the link here to arrange a free meeting with our demonstration team today.
