Popular F45 gym franchise in Melbourne collapses after share price of fitness chain plunged

Struggling fitness chain F45 has been dealt another blow with the closure of a popular Melbourne branch.

The F45 Training Bayswater North, in the east of the city, collapsed into liquidation on Sunday.

The gym, which is owned by company Anthony Cselko Training Pty Ltd, has now appointed Garth O’Connor-Price and Christopher Bergin of insolvency firm William Buck as receivers.

The branch, which still says it’s open on Google and charges members $60 a week, was once crowned the best studio in its division and boasts an Instagram post that says it’s “more than a gym.”

The F45 Training Bayswater North, in the east of the city, collapsed into liquidation on Sunday

F45 Bayswater North’s Facebook profile has been deleted and its Instagram account is private.

F45 Bayswater North has been contacted for comment.

Several F45 branches across Australia have closed in recent months, with the company also suffering a major share price drop.

F45 CEO Tom Dowd, who was appointed in March this year to turn around the struggling training company, told Daily Mail Australia last month that they were not afraid to reduce their network.

“We are willing to shrink to grow,” he said.

‘Closing unproductive locations to add value to existing studios strengthens our system.

‘An important aspect of our real estate strategy is to prevent oversaturation.

“We are focused and committed to supporting our franchise network – their operational success makes the entire system stronger.”

F45, which started with one gym in Sydney in 2012, grew to 1,555 studios and 2,801 franchises in 63 countries by mid-2021. The intention was to eventually have 23,000 studios worldwide.

Hollywood actor Mark Wahlberg invested $450 million in the company and celebrated its IPO on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in mid-2021 with Australian co-founder Adam Gilchrist.

The branch, which still says it’s open on Google and charges members $60 a week, was once crowned the best studio in its division and boasts an Instagram post that says it’s “more than a gym.”

That financial support placed Mr Gilchrist – who is not the famous cricketer of the same name – on the Australian Financial Review Rich List.

A year later, the “world’s fastest growing fitness company,” valued at more than $2 billion dollars, fell off a cliff.

In August 2022, the gym’s stock price fell from $17.28 to just $3. The stock has continued to fall, with shares trading for less than $1 since April.

Some of the fitness empire’s branches in Sydney, Queensland and Victoria have recently closed.

Struggling owners have even taken to Facebook to sell some of their fitness equipment.

The Opulent Group, one of F45’s largest franchisees, has closed at least five gyms in Sydney, four in the southern suburbs of Kogarah, Kirrawee, Caringbah, Miranda and one in Balgowlah, on the northern beaches.

Meanwhile, at least eight class action lawsuits have been filed in the US against F45 in connection with its IPO on the NYSE, alleging “possible violations of securities laws and/or breaches of fiduciary duties.”

Hollywood star Mark Wahlberg was an early American investor in F45