It’s like Benidorm! Fury as David Lloyd lures ‘undesirables’

IT TRADES on its squeaky-clean image as the upmarket predecessor to the many newer gyms on the high street.

But members of David Lloyd clubs are up in arms after the chain began to admit ‘undesirables’ on cheap temporary memberships who act like ‘it’s Benidorm’ inside the premises, it was reported yesterday.

David Lloyd, which runs more than 100 health clubs across the UK that can cost more than £200 a month in membership fees, is facing the backlash over a two-week trial promotion, which can be had for as little as £14.

Some ‘two-weekers’ signing up allegedly make the clubs look ‘more like a council-run leisure centre’, with threats, thefts and damage to cars among the negative behaviour said to have occurred.

David Crutchlow, 45, told The Times that he was too scared to return to his local branch in Rugby after complaining about a gang of men making too much noise in the Jacuzzi. The men then ‘pushed [him] in the changing room where there is no CCTV’, he claimed.

‘It’s like being back at school in the changing room with the bullies. I thought, why am I paying £200 for this situation?’ he said.

Oliver Newell, 27, described the impact at the Southampton branch: ‘The towels go missing, the weights are never put back properly, equipment is never cleaned down. There’s been damage to people’s cars in the car park, theft happens.’

Another member, who uses the Gloucester branch, said the twoweek deal makes it feel ‘more like a council-run leisure centre for the period of the deal. Two-weekers will be walking around halfdressed, getting beers and sitting around the pool like it’s Benidorm,’ he said.

A David Lloyd spokesman said: ‘We do a small number of trials each year to give members the chance to share the club with their friends and family. Our expectations for behaviour are high, and any concerns are addressed quickly and taken seriously. We ask our members to let us know about any issues.’

The business was founded by former tennis pro David Lloyd in 1982, with the first club opening in Heston, Middlesex that year.

It grew quickly to become, in revenue terms, the largest health, fitness and leisure business in Europe. By 1995 there were 18 clubs in the UK, at which point the business was bought by leisure giant Whitbread.

It was purchased by private equity firm TDR in 2013, with the number of clubs growing to more than125 in the UK and Europe.

‘They make it feel like a council leisure centre’