F45 in North Adelaide calls in liquidators

An Adelaide F45 gym has closed its doors and called in liquidators as the impact of Covid-19 continues to wreak havoc on the industry.

An F45 gym in North Adelaide has closed its doors as the lingering impact of Covid-19 continues to wreak havoc on the industry.

Liquidators were appointed on the weekend to wind up the company, Neodev Pty Ltd, which operated the health club on Melbourne St.

The company, led by director Bodie Milsom, had previously run the Muscle Bar cafe next door to the gym and a commercial kitchen in Mawson Lakes, but according to liquidator Alan Scott from SV Partners, they both closed down months ago.

Gyms and fitness centres have been forced to close during lockdowns during the pandemic and, when allowed to open, have been subject to a raft of restrictions.

Some are still in place, including capacity limits of one person per four square metres of space.

Bodie Milsom ran the F45 gym in North Adelaide before its closure over the weekend. Picture: AAP / Roy VanDerVegt

Mr Scott said the restrictions had taken a toll on the North Adelaide gym, and many others in the CBD where there has been a dramatic fall in the number of city workers.

“With the North Adelaide gym they tried and tried, but the lease was coming up, the landlord needed to put the rent up and memberships were going down,” he said.

“I think Covid’s affected everything with the number of people you can have in a gym.

“And these people who attended the gym, most of them were probably going there and then going off to work somewhere. If they’re not working in the city or North Adelaide why would they need to go there?

“I think many city gyms are struggling but those in suburban locations are doing OK.”

Mr Scott said the North Adelaide gym reached close to 170 members at its peak before falling in recent months to about 80 at the time of his appointment. It employed a small number of casual staff.

According to a report lodged with ASIC by Mr Milsom, the company owes the ATO more than $170,000, while most of the other debts are to related parties including family members.

While the number of corporate insolvencies across South Australia has remained subdued during the pandemic, Mr Scott said there were early signs that the tax office was beginning to ramp up its debt collection activity.

“As soon as the tax office starts chasing debts it’s going to have a calamitous effect – there’s a lot of people out there, who we know of, who aren’t paying the tax office at the moment – they’re just living on borrowed time.”