What Every Gym Owner Needs to Know Before Signing a Lease

Opening a fitness studio is exciting… until the lease arrives in the post.

We’ve now opened two studios and nearly signed a third. Each one taught us something new about securing the right location. And more importantly, avoiding a bad one.

Here are the biggest lessons we’ve learned:

1. Know what you’re looking for

Before you even start viewing units, get clear on your model.

For us, that’s a semi-private studio serving up to 80 members. We aim for ~1,000 sq ft, keep the layout open-plan, and design the timetable so we can hit capacity without overloading the space.

We prefer free parking—but it’s not essential. If you’re in a high street spot, being walkable counts for a lot.

Read: 5 Steps to finding the dream location for your fitness studio

2. Ask for rent-free upfront

This is one of the most overlooked parts of lease negotiations.

We always ask for a generous rent-free period. Why? Because it gives us time to pre-sell front-end offers and build our member base before paying rent. This massively helps with early cash flow.

We used this approach to bring in £20k+ before opening our doors (without a single rent payment due).

3. Don’t judge a unit too early

Our first studio is in a building from the 15th century. It's small. It’s quirky. And from the outside, it looks nothing like your typical gym.

But with a clever layout and a clear model, it’s now turning over £15k+ per month.

Ignore the fancy lighting and polished floors. Focus on layout, lease terms and how it fits your model.

Read: How much we spend on our fitness studio: cost breakdown

4. Read every line

We once nearly signed a lease on a huge space but thankfully we spotted the catch.

In the small print, there was a clause limiting operational business hours. Had we missed it, we wouldn’t have been able to run our early morning or evening sessions… and we’d have been screwed.

Lesson: always check the fine print. Or get someone who will.

5. Plan for worst case scenarios

We now add specific clauses into our leases to protect ourselves.

For example, gyms are noisy and complaints happen. If the council intervenes and we’re unable to operate because of it, we have clauses that let us exit the lease.

Not fun to think about, but essential if you don’t want to be stuck paying rent on a unit you can’t use.

Your lease is your business partner

Treat it like one. It’ll shape your cash flow, your stress levels, and the long-term health of your studio.

Get it right and you’re set up to win. Get it wrong, and you could be on the hook for years.

If you’re not 100% confident in what you’re signing, show it to someone who is.

That’s it from us. Reply any time…

Cardy Brothers
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