Brazilian Beauty founder’s firms owe creditors more than $4m

Brazilian Beauty founder Francesca Webster remains holidaying in Europe as it emerges companies she is a director of owes creditors more than $4m.

Francesca Webster, owner of Brazilian Beauty. Picture: Peter Cronin

Brazilian Beauty founder Francesca Webster remains holidaying in Europe as it emerges companies she is a director of owe creditors more than $4m.

Bill Karageozis and Paul McLeod, of McLeod & Partners, were appointed administrators of Brazilian Beauty Stores and Brazilian Beauty Australia last week. Stores remain open. McLeod told City Beat that administrators were currently waiting for information from the company’s accountant and Ms Webster “to assist with our investigations into the financial affairs of the company.” The first meeting of creditors will be held on Friday.

“The two companies we were appointed to were not trading any businesses at the date of our appointment,” McLeod says.

Francesca Webster.

Documents lodged with ASIC by the administrators show Brazilian Beauty (Australia) and Brazilian Beauty Stores combined owe creditors more than $4m including $1.2m to the Australian Taxation Office, $247,000 to the Queensland Rural and Industry Development Authority and Office of State Revenue $128,000.

The administration appointment 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 this week 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. Webster’s Facebook and Instagram postings show her enjoying a holiday in Barcelona and her native United Kingdom.

Francesca Webster.

Before she left Australia, Webster posted on Facebook that she was “loving and leaving you Brisbane. Thanks for the magical send off last night.”

She did not return an emailed request for comment. Her automatic email reply says she will return on November 15.

ASIC records show Webster’s daughter Alexandra Ramsay, 29, is the director of two companies – Brazilian Beauty Clinics and Brazilian Beauty Holdings – registered in June this year. Comment has been sought from Ramsay. These businesses continue to trade and are not under administration.

Brazilian Beauty founder Francesca Webster has left the country for a holiday in Europe. Picture: Facebook

Complete Skin and Beauty, which was established by eight former Brazilian Beauty franchisees, celebrates its second birthday this week.

The brand has 10 salons under its umbrella with eight in south-east Queensland, one in Canberra and another in Bendigo.

Speaking on behalf of the company directors, Simon Perren said the salon group had enjoyed continued growth in turnover and client numbers since its launch in October 2020.

“While the industry has faced some of its toughest challenges these past two years, we have experienced 15 per cent growth in turnover from our first year of operation to our second. This is despite facing continued challenges of lockdowns, restrictions and Covid related mass cancellations.”

“We expect to exceed this in our third year of operation as we are experiencing a post pandemic period of normal operations and we expand our range of treatments to further capitalise on our name change.