Brazilian Beauty puts two firms into administration

Brazilian Beauty CEO Francesca Webster, who founded the salon chain in 2004, has put two of her companies into administration.

Brazilian Beauty founder Francesca Webster has put two of her companies into administration at the same time as she went overseas.

Bill Karageozis and Paul McLeod, of McLeod & Partners, were appointed administrators of Brazilian Beauty Stores and Brazilian Beauty Australia this week.

The move comes two years after all the franchisees of the 18-year-old firm left to start their own brand after protracted negotiations in late 2020.

Brazilian Beauty HQ told City Beat that the firm’s nine remaining stores were open but that Webster was overseas.

English-born Webster opened her first Brazilian Beauty salon in New Farm in 2004, expanding to 20 stores over the following decade with ambitions to open 50 around the country. Along the way she picked up several gongs including a finalist in the 2014 Telstra Business Women’s Awards.

The business however hit a hiccup in 2020 when ten former Brazilian Beauty franchisees — eight in southeast Queensland and two from interstate — opened the doors to their own newly created brand, Complete Skin & Beauty.

An email sent by Citybeat to Webster came back with the message that she was “traveling internationally” and returning on November 15. Comment has been sought from Karageozis and McLeod.

According to a document lodged with ASIC, the administrators met in person and exchanged emails with Webster in relation to “obtaining sufficient information ... to advise on the solvency of the company.”

Francesca Webster, the founder of Brazilian Beauty. Picture: Peter Cronin

Clean Sweep

Brisbane business broker Brett Plant has been cleaning up of late. The director of Advisory Partner has managed the sale of Adelaide-based Zippy Cleaning and Maintenance Services to Melbourne’s ACS Property Services.

Zippy has been family owned and operated since 1985, when it was established by husband-and- wife team Olga and John Chiabrera.

It has cleaning contracts for government and commercial premises across metropolitan, regional and remote South Australia and the Northern Territory, offices in Adelaide and Darwin, and 490 employees.

Plant says the purchaser shared a family business ethos rather than a purely corporate culture. The price was subject to a confidentiality agreement but Zippy has annual turnover of more than $20 million. Advisory Partner, with offices in Brisbane, Rockhampton and Beaudesert, provides advisory services, including business sales and valuations and financial modelling.

Plant is well known in Queensland accounting circles, having worked at PKF (now part of BDO) and Moore Stephens. He established Advisory Partner in 2020.

Brett Plant

Fashion Flag

Fashion is back in the office. Valley-based Majer Recruitment hosted a corporate styling event this week with fashion stylist Alexandra Graham attended by a high-flying group of ladies including Dr Sharyn Smith from the Royal Brisbane Hospital, BDO’s Donna O’Loughlin, Kirrily Murphy from Cottee Parker Architects and Lynda McKie from Elston. Guests were treated to a styling session by Graham, showcasing a selection of looks from SABA Style, Husk and Calexico Australia.

For Sale

City of Brisbane Investment Corporation (CBIC) has put the ‘for sale’ sign on its commercial building in Parramatta following a major refurbishment. CBIC, the Brisbane City Council’s investment arm, purchased the building at 9 George St back in 2018 and was able to attract the NSW Government to a long-term lease.

CBIC chief executive Kirsty Rourke says the upgrade of the building over recent years has been well received by the market. “We have executed our modernisation strategy that has improved the amenity for occupiers,” Rourke says. CBIC has appointed John McCann and James Girvan of Colliers to manage the sale. McCann says the building has always leased well and had “sticky nature when it came to retaining tenants.”