David Lloyd Leisure Limited, trading as David Lloyd Clubs and commonly known simply as David Lloyd, is a chain of health clubs with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. It is the largest health, fitness and leisure business in Europe by revenue.[3] and operates 130 clubs in nine countries.
History
Former professional tennis player David Lloyd established David Lloyd Leisure in 1982 and opened the first club.
By 1995, there were 18 David Lloyd Leisure clubs when Whitbread PLC acquired the company for £182 million,[4] incorporating it into its Restaurants & Leisure Division. Gerrard Duxbury remained as managing director of the division until 1996.
Whitbread ran more than 50 David Lloyd Leisure (DLL) clubs in the UK with a further number in Spain, the Netherlands and Belgium. However, by the mid-2000s, the business was giving Whitbread a poor financial return,[5]