DAVID LLOYD LEISURE BREAKS INTO THE ITALIAN MARKET AS IT SIGNS A DEAL TO BUY THE MALASPINA CLUB IN MILAN
David Lloyd Leisure (DLL), Europe’s leading and fastest growing health and fitness group, today announces that it has exchanged contracts to buy the Malaspina Club in Milan. The deal is due to complete in September and it will become the company’s 111th club, and its very first club in Italy. DLL plans to invest €6million over the winter in refurbishing and developing the site.
Including the Malaspina Club, the company now has 13 clubs in mainland Europe, with locations in Holland, Belgium, Spain, Ireland and now Italy, and 98 clubs in the UK. At the same time, DLL has made clear that it is actively looking for further acquisition opportunities and new-build sites in Italy as part of its ambitious expansion plans.
The announcement comes less than two weeks after DLL’s completion of the purchase of 14 clubs from Virgin Active, the official opening of the third of its premium brand Harbour Clubs, and the exchange of contracts to acquire two more UK sites - The Park Club in West London and The Academy Club in Harrogate. These moves mean that David Lloyd Leisure becomes Europe’s number one health and fitness operator by revenue, and it also has passed its ½ millionth member milestone, with the member count now sitting at around 570,000.
Glenn Earlam, CEO David Lloyd Leisure commented: “The Malaspina deal is strategically important for us, as it is our very first club in Italy, and we hope that it is the first of many. We believe northern Italy offers great potential for us, with the right profile, an affluent area and densely populated. In a country where the family-focused health and fitness market is relatively untapped, we feel David Lloyd Clubs can satisfy a need and grow both our business and the market here.
“Growing our European portfolio both across those areas where we are already established and into new markets is now is now a primary focus for us, supported by strategic UK acquisitions and new builds. While we have ambitious plans for growth, we are well on track to achieve our target of 150 clubs by 2026.”
The Milan announcement follows the recent opening of the company’s second Spanish location with Clubs in both Aravaca (Madrid) and Barcelona, and the opening of David Lloyd Antwerp, the second club in Belgium. DLL also operates seven Clubs in the Netherlands and one in Dublin.
The Malaspina Club is a large, well-established and family-friendly centre offering a vast range of health & fitness facilities, including three swimming pools (25m, 50m and kids pool), tennis and padel courts, football pitches, gym, spa and cafébar facilities across a beautiful six hectare parkland site. Located on the east side of Milan, the club is a strong fit for the family-focused brand and is ideally situated to serve a large and active membership.
To find out more about David Lloyd Clubs visit www.davidlloyd.co.uk.
-ends-
For further press information please call:
the firm: Penny Roberts, 07887 542490, [email protected] ;
DLL: Liz Bartlett, 07484 039373, [email protected]
About David Lloyd Leisure Group
Including The Academy Harrogate and Malaspina, the David Lloyd Leisure Group has 111 clubs - 98 clubs in the UK and a further 13 clubs across Europe, comprising its two brands David Lloyd Clubs and Harbour Clubs (of which there are three - Chelsea, Notting Hill and Kensington).
On 1 June 2017 it acquired 14 UK health and racquets clubs from Virgin Active as well as opened its third Harbour Club at Kensington following a £5.5m investment and redevelopment programme. It also announced it had exchanged contracts to buy The Park Club in Chiswick, London and The Academy Club in Harrogate.
It has approximately 570,000 members and employs around 8100 people. This includes an expert health and fitness team of over 2000 while it contracts the services of more than 680 tennis professionals.
Across all clubs, David Lloyd Leisure has over 180 swimming pools (of which half are indoor) and offers over 13,000 exercise classes per week.
Every week over 25,000 children learn to swim at David Lloyd Leisure, 16000 children learn to play in the Tennis All Stars Coaching Programme.
David Lloyd Club’s racquets facilities are unparalleled with over 1000 tennis courts as well as over 400 badminton and squash courts.
Additional facilities include health and beauty spas, club lounges with free internet access, crèches, nurseries and specialist sports shops.