Real estate developers are increasingly looking to tap into the "great opportunities" being offered by the growth of the UK’s health and fitness sector.

According to Ross Kirton, head of UK leisure agency at property specialist Colliers International, the heightened awareness of the importance of physical activity – and the resulting growth of the fitness sector – has already seen many developers respond by including exercise provision in their projects.

"The growth of the UK’s health and fitness sector is well documented," Kirton states, writing in the September 2019 issue of HCM magazine. "With 5.8 million members nationally, it was estimated by Mintel to be worth £3.2bn in 2018.

"Separately, we recently conducted a 3,000-person consumer market survey, which revealed that 45 per cent of gym-goers have increased their gym attendance since 2016, while 71 per cent of people who go to the gym attend more than once a week.

"Almost half of the people surveyed said what they liked most about their gym was that it was close to home and another 75 per cent were willing to spend more on monthly rent or mortgage payments to be near their gym of choice.

"Moreover, 29 per cent of people revealed that they would be willing to pay a higher membership fee for a rooftop gym."

Kirton writes that the willingness of potential tenants or home-owners to pay extra for having easy access to fitness opportunities hasn't gone unnoticed among developers.

"We believe that landlords now have the opportunity to start thinking creatively about the way gyms are incorporated into wider residential or mixed-use developments," he writes.

"We are already finding that residential developers in London are opting to expand space previously allocated for a residents gym and commercialise this space for third-party occupiers that can offer discounted membership to residents subsidised by the building’s service charge.

"This is a trend we at Colliers fully expect to continue, thus opening up new potential opportunities for occupiers."

Kirton added that it isn't just the residential property market that should take note.

"With 52 per cent of people saying they exercise more intensely during weekdays, we believe that office landlords have the opportunity to better utilise and monetise buildings’ underused or vacant spaces, such as basements," he said.

"We have already seen the conversion of lower ground floors in offices particularly in central London has created a steady stream of new gym opportunities, while more are yet to be explored."

• To read the full article written by Kirton, click here for the September 2019 issue of HCM.