Leisure centre construction boosting starts

An influx of leisure centre developments is boosting construction starts, and more opportunities are coming up in the pipeline.

Glenigan’s construction industry research shows that the underlying value (work worth up to £100 million) of construction project starts in the hotel & leisure sector rose by 23% in the three months to August 2025 compared to the same stage a year earlier.

A swathe of leisure centre projects helped drive this rise, and more are in the pipeline, such as a £68.2 million leisure centre being developed with Rushmoor Borough Council at Westmead in Farnborough, where work is due to start next April (Glenigan Project ID: 24066611).

Other major leisure centre schemes due to move to site in the near future include Cumberland Council’s £20.6 million Activating Community Health development in Millom, where construction is due to begin in November (Glenigan Project ID: 23346518) and the £27 million South Holland Health and Wellbeing Hub in Spalding (Pictured), where work is expected to start in 2027 (Glenigan Project ID: 23030399).

Operator spend

Private leisure centre operators spending on construction include David Lloyd, which is planning a £16.6 million new centre in Nantwich (Glenigan Project ID: 25381217), and Alliance Leisure, which is among the construction industry’s top 100 clients.

Glenigan’s research shows that Alliance Leisure awarded £188.2 million-worth of construction work in the 12 months to August 2025. The company has a large pipeline of future work, such as a £47 million leisure centre at Kingsway in Hove, where construction is expected to begin next April (Glenigan Project ID: 21447120).

Many of Alliance Leisure’s schemes are in conjunction with local authorities, such as a £24 million leisure centre being developed with Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council at Haden Hill in the Midlands, where Speller Metcalfe is due to start work in November (Glenigan Project ID: 23040331).

Alliance has also teamed up with Dover District Council to develop a leisure centre in Deal with Dutch contractor Pellikaan due to start construction in April 2026 (Glenigan Project ID: 24221051).

Dutch drive

Pellikaan is also building the Westmead Centre scheme under a design and build contract, and is one of the most successful contractors for leisure centre work in the UK.

Founded in Oosterhout in 1947, Pellikaan specialises in building leisure centres and moved to the UK in 1984. Glenigan’s research shows that over the last 12 months, Pellikaan won £157.7 million-worth of leisure centre work.

Other major jobs won by the company in this period include a £44.5 million leisure centre at Kingston upon Thames, where work began this summer (Glenigan Project ID: 21447120).

Specialising in leisure centre work has helped Pellikaan more than double turnover in the UK to £52.8 million in 2024.

Willing work

Willmott Dixon is also benefitting from an increase in leisure centre work and recently won a £43 million deal to build the Cascades Leisure Centre in Gravesend for Gravesham Borough Council (Glenigan Project ID: 2204624). Construction work will start next summer.

Other leisure centre work won by the company ranges from a £5.2 million job to decarbonise a leisure centre in Hertford for North Hertfordshire Council (Glenigan Project ID: 25198490) to a £20 million deal to rebuild Springs Leisure Centre in Sheffield for the city council (Glenigan Project ID: 25227306).

Future rise

Leisure centre construction may be relatively niche, but it is helping contractors keep busy, and opportunities look set to continue.