The rapid growth of the UK's boutique fitness sector is being driven by strong demand from women for a more personalised gym experience, new research has found.

The Global Boutique Trends Report 2018, compiled by ukactive, suggests that the vast majority of boutique fitness customers in the UK are female, making up 83 per cent of classes booked in London.

London's gender divide is in line to findings from other large cosmopolitan areas, such as New York and Los Angeles in the US, where women made up 83 per cent and 81 per cent of bookings respectively.

The report also highlighted the international demand for boutique fitness in London, attracting customers from across the globe, with boutique classes proving highly popular among foreign visitors.

When it comes to consumer trends, the study identified London as home of the lunchtime workout – with almost 20 per cent of classes in London taking place during lunch compared to less than 5 per cent in Mexico City, where pre-work workouts are preferred.

Conducted by ukactive in conjunction with fitness software platform zingfit, the Global Boutique Trends Report is based on data collected by zingfit, examining boutique trends in four cities across the globe: London, New York, Los Angeles and Mexico City.

The data was aggregated and analysed by the ukactive Research Institute.

“This report provides a fascinating insight into the trends driving the burgeoning boutique fitness market both in the UK and abroad," said ukactive CEO, Steven Ward.

“The challenge now is for boutiques to use these findings to expand their reach and provide better, more personalised fitness offerings to customers.”