David Lloyd established David Lloyd Leisure in 1980. Upon opening the first club, they aimed at providing a “family orientated” fitness and leisure facility.
DLL is Britain’s biggest tennis operator and manages more than 500 tennis courts. There are 79 clubs in the UK and a further 10 across the rest of Europe DLL maintenance department contacted Promain Paints when they needed to repaint a number of facilities at their somewhat distinct sports centres where there is emphasis on racquet sports. Their requirements were for a hygiene (anti bacterial) wall and floor coating to assist in the control of infection. 
The solution proposed was to apply the Centrecoat Aqua to the walls and Centrecoat Ultra 2 pack to the floors. This easy to apply coating is hygienic and hard wearing and will offer many years of service life. By 1995, there were 18 David Lloyd Leisure clubs when Whitbread PLC acquired the company for £182 million, incorporating it into its Restaurants & Leisure Division. David Lloyd remained as managing director of the division until 1996. Whitbread ran more than 50 David Lloyd Leisure (DLL) clubs in the UK and Northern Ireland, with a further number in Spain, the Netherlands and Belgium.
However, by the mid-2000s, the business was giving Whitbread a poor financial return, and on 2 August 2007 they sold it to London & Regional Properties and Bank of Scotland for £925 million. Whitbread used the proceeds from the sale to repay debt. London & Regional Properties already owned and operated Next Generation Clubs; the businesses were merged under the Next Generation Clubs’ management team led by Scott Lloyd.
