I read that Equinox are making a huge loss in London and thinking of closing all their branches here but Third Space are having roaring success and expanding at a very fast rate (3-4 new large clubs opening every year).

Has anyone been to both and can hazard a guess why? I’m surprised given Equinox already have so much capital and a big successful presence in the US whereas Third Space started from scratch in London. Their membership prices seem to be in the same range £250-300 so definitely luxury tier.

Some articles on this below:

https://www.standard.co.uk/business/london-luxury-gyms-in-crisis-as-equinox-plunges-to-ps18-million-loss-b1103018.html

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/david-beckhams-265-a-month-gym-third-space-bulks-up-with-fundraiser-xz2d3mxdv

by pelican678

6 comments

  1. Equinox expanded into London on the back of VC investment and celebrity namedropping, while Third Space has gradually expanded outwards from Soho over 20 years. It doesn’t seem particularly surprising that the latter would be outperforming the former here, especially as there are only so many people prepared to pay that much for a “luxe” gym membership so the growth of one probably comes at the cost of the other.

  2. I’ve been a member of 3rd space for ages. They’re good — but somethings are getting a bit annoying and people are getting annoyed. More and more rules limiting when you can use guest passes, prices on shit like water going through the roof (£6 for 250ml bottle) limiting laptop usage in the cafe area, and raising rates nearly constantly. People aren’t impressed.

  3. Your Third Space link is paywalled so I can’t read it, but I very much doubt they are profitable yet. [Their last published accounts](https://s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/document-api-images-live.ch.gov.uk/docs/dxMqW_3uKt9rmbNP2Z3z723jbr5nOtc7Y2Vp9whVl-M/application-pdf?X-Amz-Algorithm=AWS4-HMAC-SHA256&X-Amz-Credential=ASIAWRGBDBV3G3EURAMK%2F20240310%2Feu-west-2%2Fs3%2Faws4_request&X-Amz-Date=20240310T171639Z&X-Amz-Expires=60&X-Amz-Security-Token=IQoJb3JpZ2luX2VjEBEaCWV1LXdlc3QtMiJIMEYCIQCT%2BwxCEtqYF0DA0JziqE4jTmMrqxuJFTcdlfOZchSyOQIhANKAlBpo827wbCTCGfjdAEKaMHMOjcZUrK5ggCfA%2Bp3uKrsFCBoQBRoMNDQ5MjI5MDMyODIyIgyPgWjdTFsKBgm3K2cqmAVc8Qg1kyFLlxZ6wgw9Bt0nnz8fF2S9RWkqOg1NLYpLfq%2BTnLw99Hu4cIks1Jr4Jb74c7gnwTTO5%2BZ1wUR9XZ7WS%2F5wwVfkqCLsIkNovhUovMm0pQTetgeRnnpqesM1eVErFYNXLGQdgoaFtHoVpiWBsSCHjGF5HzlMbKg8ZcO2XxjgzEVk4HElscCRU8oOSP7k%2FdLrkj3%2BZ891g6%2FSc%2F5NbbZB7gX4BkJkvY3fa7pArNbIfV87mApO%2FhuhaIi%2FdVcW63uf4hJ4KuiD6N3XrtJYySLyMbowPyaQMHw1s6sF8pqdrFGvoHa4JDHUygfaG8xEQS9bqsSxsjkQsu5X2ipwPDzjcHtxiBfTEsWA2v5vWhvNevhgzuDXXI7ewT0sp7f1bi2AL957r%2Fe3qsTbPsMrO99oH4n2g3yqWGasKFmsfbPNXF46fOQ3zJKZ74EOfdh5xI1A0UnXr%2B7lglmi4hgcZAGXAWlTdIjZFUNsS63Bd%2Bg6XZMPM9XVfC3XPhQvtX8xDlD3R%2F6VN2E5Cn2kqcUQVdrQrzGTdEOK4%2FFXTjW6WdQ7dkbFknDrmp01RY4pBMm4OHAn4d2f2NBiA6XhGBH2JSdptVnMMh4Tz1JEAj44FSMWl8t3wacD1Ou72iwyHJV2XWVres8Jmb7PxuH1rTY4cWp%2BEuQH3e6FI%2FTlQ24FPM6lJVreXeypz%2FN2yQgOOHmA96FTfqWLotgycuhJJC3qrx01yXqfoYsp0k6SxltBj3%2FxUPA1lDjC8L1jAsh7mC1N0otcybV%2FDFRdeYUOnSC6q4t%2Bx3gidR0f1XNTtpusygBlbva0Xt1y32S3hXSEVf1%2BVt2ln2vIAirvQnDXhP4ul7kxQCfw0ju4D0ZJLTklH3CBjXaZnO2DMInCt68GOrABa%2Bg4lYTm7QIGmpyqXfFgof0gxHVUo2vDbHRHEWmp0OebJ9aTuppC609FZNXxQP4W8fPrmD%2F0B41ozL8R1Ne42ywlte4vijDw8yPOrGrckvQqZvmw4IhOZDeMUUWx%2FwvkniSxeNU%2BQz2kCOtJM1MvVRg2Ly00OnoABloZ6Oq3sQDmbbEDBz2VZ5fn4cfL%2BM1Xdo2fcMLe5f3GuTJUpPwOACgxg%2FCBDbcf2v2Cv9JKC%2Bc%3D&X-Amz-SignedHeaders=host&response-content-disposition=inline%3Bfilename%3D%22companies_house_document.pdf%22&X-Amz-Signature=d863cbf32c70294e35a9500191d139c630ed4af96b523c7fcd1b2d37796f8436) show massive accumulated losses that continued through 2022. Raising funds for expansion does not equate to running a currently profitable business, and may never do.

  4. So one thing third space does well is that you can access top quality exercise classes in literally everything. Yoga, Pilates , boxing , HIIT etc. it’s nice to have it under one roof and to top it off have the spa and swimming. This should be what leisure centres like Nuffield etc offer as well but the standards vary greatly and don’t have nearly enough classes to meet the demand. I think they are executing well all round but I have to agree the price increases are aggressive and at some point you ask yourself can I justify this expense long term

  5. Equinox seems useless to me. I visited one of their branch in central London and I didn’t get why people would pay such a high price. The sales lady was also terrible, trying to sell me the membership as if it was something special to be a member.

    By contrast, thirdspace is a great gym IMO, in every dimension. Facilities and classes are great and people, both patrons and workers, are not stuck up IMO

  6. Third Space is expanding but it is changing its model in order to do so, which is pissing a lot of members off, particularly those that have been there for a few years. The luxury aspect of it is diminishing somewhat and the service standards are dropping. It is very noticeable along with influx of new members as they follow the Soho House route of overcrowding. The classes and equipment are good still, but I guess they’ve realised that the luxury aspect isn’t so profitable. They’ve attracted quite a lot of members who seem to be using it not as intended and they’ve had to send out an email reminding people of club etiquette, and telling people not set up their workspaces in the cafe areas etc. They’ve lost a lot of staff too who aren’t happy with the changes. Now the front desk is manned by changing faces that are huddled in the corner on their phones. They’re adapting (presumably) in order to attract investment and grow but I think the days of Third Space being so luxurious and high standard are over.

    They do a very good with location and classes and that’s probably what’s giving them an edge over equinox. It’s just a shame they seem to be attracting the soho house crowd looking for status symbols and people trying to use it as their office.

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