Our Four Pillars

Covid-19: Latest information & service updates

Better Services

Customer visits

Our customers make 46 million visits a year. Nearly half of these will use online portals or self-service kiosks to make their visit and book their activity or class.

Overall customer satisfaction rating is 86%.

Diversification

GLL is diversifying its service offer to reflect demand from local communities. From Aqua Tots through to the over 55 Club Games, we provide more for all ages.

New activities include trampoline parks, day spas and a bowling alley.

Quality standards

GLL constantly strives to improve quality standards. 100 centres are Quest accredited; we have ISO 14001 and ISO 9002.

Digital

GLL is committed to delivering an inclusive digital service to provide help and information to all of our community, partners and staff.

We strive to develop a best in class digital experience through all online channels showcasing our service offering across our varied divisions.

Customers can book, buy and join online making our facilities more accessible than ever.

Better People

Staff Development

GLL is all about empowerment. Our staff-led board is at the heart of the organisation and plays a crucial role in the strategic decisions of our business. Likewise we aim to empower our staff through training and development and always try to promote from within.

500 apprenticeships will be awarded to young people looking to take their first steps on the career ladder in sport and leisure.

Education and employment

GLL works to educate our users through our numerous courses and classes. Our libraries and children’s centres capture the imaginations of young learners while boosting wellbeing.

GLL is a major UK employer and the largest leisure charitable social enterprise with 12,500 employees.

Employing from the local area puts us at the heart of things and reflects the community we operate in.

We are award winning – ukactive employer of the year (2015) and offer an unparalleled career path and staff development opportunities including an internal college and trainee management scheme.

Better Communities

Health

We increase access to physical activity and in turn improve the community’s health and wellbeing.

Our Healthwise scheme promotes health awareness and makes targeted interventions through prescribed activity, diet and lifestyle tips.

We are signatories to the Mental Health Charter and operate programmes to support customers with Dementia.

Sport and Legacy Development

At GLL we strive to be at the heart of the communities in which we operate – supporting grass roots sports development alongside a broad range of leisure and educational activities and facilities for individuals and families.

Our Sports Foundation crates a legacy by re-investing directly back into elite sport at national and international competition level.

Community Development/Engagement

GLL is truly inclusive. We welcome everyone regardless of age, class, ethnicity, physical or mental impairment or ability and are confident that all sectors of society can and do benefit from our offering.

We proactively link with community groups and schools to improve awareness and encourage use of the facilities we operate.

Increasing Participation

GLL is committed to improving access to sport, physical activity, information and learning through the facilities and services we operate.

Over 30% of our members enjoy concessionary access, allowing us to help get more people, more active, more often regardless of their personal circumstances.

Success/Testimonials

We have many successes to share which include:

Our GLL Foundation funded 45 athletes who returned with a haul of 20 medals at Rio 2016. A further £5m will be awarded to athletes in training for Tokyo 2020.

Our Swim School is the largest in the UK with 115,000 members learning an important life skill and taking part in accessible exercise.

Free swimming initiatives encourage those who cannot afford sessions to enter the pool.

Green and our environment

By partnering with fair trade providers in our cafes, we are creating employment for UK food retailers through our supply chain and opportunities for sustainable producers in the developing world.

We are investing in new technology and upgrading heating and lighting systems to reduce energy consumption.

We have been awarded Carbon Trust Standard certification for our work to reduce our emissions as a percentage of our turnover.

Better Business

Growth and re-investment

We will turnover £274m in 2017 of which £14.2m will be reinvested in our facilities and business.

We have 361 managed facilities – 258 Sports and Leisure facilities, 88 libraries, 10 children’s centres and 5 adventure playgrounds.

We have an innovative growth model which includes asset purchases, leasing of buildings, asset transfer - as well as traditional bidding for local authority contracts.

Thought Leadership and partnership

We are a pathfinder in the leisure industry – our expertise and innovation has brought us numerous awards.

GLL is one of the largest members of SEUK and contributes actively to promote the £23bn annual contribution social enterprise makes to the UK economy.

We work with many partners at national, regional and local levels to promote active lifestyles. These include The Lawn Tennis Association, Amateur Swimming Association, Sport England, local authorities, schools and community groups.

Representatives of GLL play key roles in various UK or industry working groups such as Chair of the Prime Minister’s Challenge Group for the Alzheimers Society for Leisure, Sports and Entertainment; ukactive Board Member and Data Governance Forum member.