Another F45 branch has called in the liquidators, continuing a worrying trend for the fitness franchise after several gyms closed last year and reports dozens more were in trouble.
Ipswich based company Forging Fitness Investments Pty. Ltd., trading under F45 Springfield, entered liquidation as of Monday.
By the end of October last year at least eight branches had closed on the east coast, with a rival operator in November warning a further 151 of its gyms are in “distress”.
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Founder of C3 Training — another popular group training gym franchise — Serkan Honeine told 7NEWS.com.au he has had dozens of F45 branch owners approach him in the hope of re-franchising.
Clifford John Sanderson from Dissolve was appointed liquidator of the failing Springfield franchise, and advised 7NEWS.com.au that although it was early in the investigation, the choice to liquidate was due to a lack of profitability for the gym’s future.
The liquidator said while the business owed back taxes in excess of $20,000, financially the branch’s position was better than some.
Sanderson said his client was in a long-term lease at the Orion Springfield Central shopping centre, and when the gym owner approached his centre’s landlords in regard to a change in rent prices, “they declined to accommodate him”.
“Small businesses like this are our target market,” Sanderson said.
“We regularly see gyms such as this one (go through liquidation), but this is the first F45 I’ve seen.”
F45 launched in Australia in 2012 and offers 45-minute functional group workouts.
The fitness brand was valued at $2 billion at its peak, and saw investments from Hollywood actors such as Mark Wahlberg.
A downturn in business, believed to be exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, and a rise in cost of living saw the struggling fitness group delisted from the New York Stock Exchange in September 2023.
Branches in Wollongong, including in Corrimaland and Bulli, as well as Zetland in Sydney, all shut their doors in 2023.
Two Victorian branches also closed, including in Port Melbourne and South Yarra.
Those liquidations came after it emerged F45 Training Parramatta CBD in Sydney, F45 Training Bayswater North in Melbourne, and F45 Training Devonport in Tasmania were also set to close.