The latest research on UK health club and leisure centre member retention, the largest and most representative of its type to date, reveals a worrying decline in an already unsatisfactory situation - namely the industry's ability to keep hold of its members.

Currently only 52 per cent of members are maintaining membership for 12 months and private operators perform significantly better than the public sector for the first 11 months.

Dr. Paul Bedford, author of the research project, which sampled almost 350,000 members from 100 private and public sector health clubs and leisure centres over a four-year period, will present his findings to sporta members during the General Meeting at LIW on Wednesday 25 September.

During his session the international speaker and industry retention guru will dissect and compare the Trust sector with other market sectors in relation to retention, attrition and customer loyalty.

With a master's degree in exercise and health behaviours and a PhD that focused on retention in the gym environment, Dr. Bedford is the fitness industry's leading authority on retention, attrition and customer experience management. He is currently developing bespoke retention strategies for small and large operators in seven different countries.