Clive Chesser, PureGym CEO
The former hospitality CEO is scaling the UK’s largest gym operator into a global powerhouse.
BY JIM SCHMALTZ
Corporate HQ Leeds, United Kingdom
Global Footprint (as of June 30, 2025) • 693 gyms across UK, Denmark, Switzerland, US, and Middle East • 2,419 million members
Revenue £605 million ($812.5 million)
Website puregym.com
When your goal is to scale from UK market leader to global fitness powerhouse, experience matters. Clive Chesser, hired as CEO of PureGym on November 6, 2024, brings exactly the right combination of operational expertise and executive leadership to make it happen.
Founded in 2009, PureGym pioneered the affordable, 24/7 gym model in Britain. By the end of 2024, the company had grown to approximately 680 gyms worldwide with 2.25 million members across the UK, Denmark, Switzerland, the United States, and the Middle East.
Among Chesser’s stated goals is leveraging PureGym’s disciplined approach to open more than 60 new gyms in 2025, with ambitious plans for considerable growth in future years. The acquisition of 56 Blink Fitness locations in New York has transformed PureGym’s US presence and created a meaningful platform for expansion in the world’s largest fitness market.
An experienced hospitality executive, Chesser recently served as CEO of Punch Pubs & Co, one of the UK’s largest pub companies with over 1,300 venues, where he successfully navigated the business through the pandemic and oversaw its sale to Fortress Investment Group. His earlier career included positions at Enterprise Inns and SSP/Compass Group.
“Pubs and gyms both have the ability to make people’s lives better, more enjoyable, and provide experiences that ensure people leave feeling better than when they arrived.”
Clive Chesser
The PureGym Formula: The Core Principles
PureGym ranks seventh in overall global revenue for 2024, according to the 2025 HFA Global Report. HFB asked CEO Clive Chesser how PureGym was able to succeed in the crowded HVLP marketplace.
“PureGym was one of the pioneers of the HVLP proposition, so our journey has been from disruptor to market leader and, now, on to international expansion,” Chesser explains.
Below, he expands on the key elements that have made PureGym a success.
A strong core product: “We offer affordable, flexible fitness memberships that match or exceed member expectations.”
Calculated risk taking: “We deployed capital to scale quickly, including through material acquisitions in the UK, in Europe, and more recently in the US.”
Supportive owners: “All our owners have backed the management team and supported our growth aspirations as well as helped us manage challenging times such as the Covid pandemic.”
Clear purpose: “We exist to inspire healthier nations, and all our people are united and motivated by this powerful goal.
Health & Fitness Business is a publication of
Health & Fitness Business (HFB) is the leading Health & Fitness industry publication. Published monthly by the Health & Fitness Association (HFA) and distributed free to the industry, HFB offers analysis of the opportunities, challenges, issues and news that impact the industry.
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