David Lloyd Leisure is Europe's largest health, fitness and leisure business by revenue, operating 130 clubs across nine countries.

History

David Lloyd established David Lloyd Leisure in 1982 and opened the first club, aimed at providing a family orientated, high quality fitness and leisure facility. This was somewhat distinct from the traditional gyms and sports centres of the time. There was also an emphasis on racquet sports. By 1995, there were 18 David Lloyd Leisure clubs when

Whitbread Whitbread plc is a multinational British hotel and restaurant company headquartered in Houghton Regis, England. The business was founded as a brewery in 1742, and had become the largest brewery in the world by the 1780s. Its largest division ...

PLC acquired the company for £182 million,Whitbread sells David Lloyd gyms
BBC News, 4 June 2007. Retrieved 15 July 2011. incorporating it into its Restaurants & Leisure Division. Gerrard Duxbury remained as managing director of the division until 1996. Whitbread ran more than 50 David Lloyd Leisure (DLL) clubs in the UK with a further number in

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

, the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

and

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

. However, by the mid-2000s, the business was giving Whitbread a poor financial return, and on 2 August 2007 they sold it to

London & Regional Properties London & Regional Properties (L&R) is a private real estate and leisure investment firm based in London, United Kingdom. It is one of the largest privately held principal investors in Europe, performing private equity style investments in direct ...

and

Bank of Scotland The Bank of Scotland plc (Scottish Gaelic: ''Banca na h-Alba'') is a commercial and clearing bank based in Scotland and is part of the Lloyds Banking Group, following the Bank of Scotland's implosion in 2008. The bank was established by th ...

for £925 million. Whitbread used the proceeds from the sale to repay debt. London & Regional Properties already owned and operated Next Generation Clubs; the businesses were merged under the Next Generation Clubs' management team led by Scott Lloyd, David Lloyd's son. On 5 September 2013 London & Regional Properties agreed to sell David Lloyd Leisure to

TDR Capital TDR Capital is a British private equity firm headquartered in London, England. History TDR Capital was co-founded in 2002 by Manjit Dale, Stephen Robertson, and Tudor Capital.

for £750m. Since then, David Lloyd Leisure has grown from 90 clubs to 130 through both new build and acquisition of existing clubs and groups. During this period TDR Capital has invested £440m into the existing clubs to ensure that they continue to deliver market leading facilities and services for its members. The David Lloyd Leisure Group now has 101 clubs in the UK and a further 29 clubs internationally comprising its three brands David Lloyd Clubs, Harbour Clubs in London and David Lloyd Meridian in Germany. David Lloyd Bicester became DLL's 130th club (and 101st Club in the UK) when it opened in September 2022. Since 2017, David Lloyd Leisure has been voted into the Sunday Times’ 25 Best Companies to work for by its team, for four years.

Current operations

David Lloyd Leisure currently operates 101 clubs in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

as well as 29 in Europe in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

and the

References

{{Authority control Tennis venues in the United Kingdom Health clubs in the United Kingdom Whitbread former divisions and subsidiaries Companies established in 1982