How much money Virgin Active makes in South Africa – and how many members it has
South Africa’s biggest chain of health clubs, Virgin Active, boasts a very strong membership according to holding firm Brait, which has a 71.9% (FY2017: 71.1%) effective economic interest in the equity value of health and wellness brand.
Virgin Active Group represents 233 clubs in eight countries including South Africa, the United Kingdom, and Italy, among others. The club boasts 1.2 million members, of which 715,000 are based in South Africa, in 142 clubs, meaning an average of 5,035 members per club.
According to a somewhat dated article in the Economist, South Africa has the world’s highest fitness club revenue – $931 million (R12 billion), with Virgin taking the lion’s share.
With 26 gyms in South Africa, Planet Fitness, is the second largest chain in the country, which provides some indication of Virgin Active’s dominance.
Virgin reported that for the year ended December 2017, revenue grew in excess of 13%, to £580 million (R10.5 billion).
“Southern Africa grew revenue by 5% with 6 new clubs opened and closing membership 2% lower than last year,” Virgin said.
In terms of revenue for Southern Africa, Virgin reported gains of 5% to £ 216 million (R3.9 billion).
In an updated Q1 FY2018 trading update, Virgin highlighted ‘good membership growth in Q1 with closing membership up 1% year on year’. It pointed to 40,000 members added since January, 40% more than in the same period last year. Growth in South Africa and the UK was particularly strong, it said.
Revenue growth locally, was also up 2%, Virgin Active said.
Rates at Virgin differ greatly, from R199 per month to in excess of R1,250 per month.
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