David Lloyd Gym Annual Price Increase

Leebobs

Today I received the annual increase notice from the David Lloyd Gym in Warrington.  I have a joint membership with my partner and they have wacked up the price well above inflation this year.

In 2022, we were paying £55 a month each.

In 2023, we were paying £63 a month following a 14.5% increase in prices.

In 2024 they increased the price to £67.25 a 6.7% increase.

For 2025 they have decided to increase the price to £74 a month a 10% increase.  Well in excess of the July 2024 RPI figure which would enable me to quit without penalty (which was 3.6%).

The renewal notices fail to mention that you can leave without penalty due to the significant increase in prices.  The club will (as they have in previous years) say that they can put up prices by as much as they want.

The Warrington club has not had any real investment for five or so years, it no longer feels like a premium club.

Have other DL members received similar annual increase demands?

Brie

Any possibility they are running the place down prior to selling?  That's what they did at our club a few years back.  What was once a really nice place with good, friendly staff became a tatty mess with half the place shut down, no heat in the saunas (they claimed it was because having them hot was a H&S issue when having them lukewarm would have been an improvement).  Staff was obviously so fed up with getting complaints they were sullen and would respond with "well send a letter to head office". 

Do they still have the clause saying that you need to give 3 months notice from the first of the month?

Mark_d

https://www.davidlloyd.co.uk/-/media/david lloyd/files/uk-terms-and-conditions-december-2020

Check if you can cancel under paragraph 15.2

Grumpy_chap

Leebobs said:

Today I received the annual increase notice from the David Lloyd Gym in Warrington.  I have a joint membership with my partner and they have wacked up the price well above inflation this year.

In 2022, we were paying £55 a month each.

In 2023, we were paying £63 a month following a 14.5% increase in prices.

In 2024 they increased the price to £67.25 a 6.7% increase.

For 2025 they have decided to increase the price to £74 a month a 10% increase.  Well in excess of the July 2024 RPI figure which would enable me to quit without penalty (which was 3.6%).

The renewal notices fail to mention that you can leave without penalty due to the significant increase in prices.  The club will (as they have in previous years) say that they can put up prices by as much as they want.

The Warrington club has not had any real investment for five or so years, it no longer feels like a premium club.

Have other DL members received similar annual increase demands?

How do the price you currently and will be paying compare with other gyms in the area?

£74 each (£148 for a couple) seems quite good rate compared to the DL near us - it was £120 each when we enquired several years back before Covid.

We are currently at Nuffield Health at £136 for couple membership, but DL is generally a lot more expensive than NH.

Leebobs

I think that is the problem Grumpy_chap.  There really is very little competition for them within 5-10 miles.  Just one other "Premium" gym which does charge £120 each per month.  Then Council run facilities (£35), PureGym (£25).

It would be interesting to know if other David Lloyd customers are seeing similar per month increases in percentage terms.

Grumpy_chap

What are the facilities you seek to make a gym "premium"?
How many of those facilities do you use?  Really?

If proximity is key, there is the privately run Ascendency Fitness just around the corner.  Similar costs to the Council run facilities.  No pool and no bar.

Athelis is 3 or 4 miles away - very premium - about £120 per month each.

Village gym is 2 miles away.  Not quite as premium as DL or Athelis but still has a pool (just the one) and bar attached.  £54 per month.  Near the centre of Warrington and also the main line train so easy to get to.  You can't lose much by arranging a visit.

Edit - we literally just received notification that our NH membership is increasing from the current £136 to £144 from 1st January, so that is 5.8%

Hawkwood

I just checked out my local David Lloyd in Finchley, London. They sent me the following...

FINCHLEY is the nation's flagship club and Platinum Super Tier is the only option we offer due to state-of-the-art facilities. We're currently at capacity, therefore we only replace the members that leave us each month.

• Membership Name: Platinum 

• Key Benefits: 

·         Unlimited and anytime access

·         Full Spa Retreat access across all Clubs

·         Gym

·         Swimming Pools (Indoor and Outdoor)

·         Studio group exercise class access

·         Racquets (Tennis & Badminton)

·         Unlimited Blaze boutique studio access

·         X1 Fresh towel on arrival every visit

·         X1 Monthly Guest Pass per adult

·         10% Discount in Clubroom restaurant and Cafe

·         10% Discount on All Stars Tennis and Swimming coaching

·         Enhanced booking rights for all classes at visiting clubs

·         @home digital content exclusively on your app

·         Full use of all UK and European Clubs

• Pricing:  - Individual £259 per month / Couple £438 per month (£219 each)

 

Children 3-18 - £59 per month 

Children 0-2 - £11 per month 

All memberships are subject to a one off £170 joining fee per adult (We currently have a promotion that offers half price joining fee on Adult memberships - £85) and £10 per child.

I've politely declined at £259 per month...