Editorial

Guides

Comparisons and buying guides built from the same data as the directory, so the figures in an article always match the listings.

The five best gym chains in London

Ranked on price, coverage, facilities and flexibility — with the criteria shown, and who each one is wrong for.

A hundred and thirty-two pools across all 33 boroughs, and the venues that call themselves leisure centres without having any water at all.

Fifty gyms that never close, why every one of them is a budget chain, and why none of them has a pool.

Three London clubs, none with a pool, at up to £470 a month. What the money buys and where the argument against it is strongest.

Britain's largest healthcare charity runs 35 London gyms. The clinical model, the pools and the discounts explain most of it.

Britain's largest operator, at around £20 a month. What removing the pool actually paid for.

Nearly identical to PureGym at nearly the same price. What genuinely separates them, and how to choose.

Twice the price for a smaller gym. The franchise model explains why people pay it.

Fourteen London clubs with pools, for less than Equinox charges for three without.