Steve Philpott, chief executive of DC Leisure, has said the future is bright for leisure management companies working in local authority centres.

“There’s more and more pressure on local authorities to outsource,” he told Health Club Management.

“There are around 3,600 leisure centres in the country, of which only 20 per cent are under contract to outside parties. Half of those are in the hands of companies like us and some are in the hands of trusts and voluntary organisations but the rest are run by local authorities, so there’s huge market potential.”

Director of DC Leisure and its owner, Sovereign Capital, Ryan Robson, added: “Best value reviews and the better customer service provided by private-sector operators, combined with local authority cash constraints, mean that an increasing number of councils are working in partnership with the private sector to deliver leisure services.

“In addition, the government has given the sector a boost through the PFI (Public Finance Initiative) which will see tens of millions of pounds invested in new facilities in the next five years,” he said.

Philpott also said that the health club industry must do more to help people realise the benefits of fitness and so improve retention rates.

“The underlying cause of membership churn is that getting fit and exercising is faddish – in the same way as dieting, people will always try it and come back to it, try it and come back to it,” he said.

“It’s difficult to get people to commit, but the industry must provide them with better advice, guidance and support.” For the full interview with Steve Philpott see HCM March 2004.