Multiple F45 Training gyms collapse, equipment up for sale on Facebook Marketplace

A number of the franchises have gone into liquidation while gym equipment is being sold incredibly cheaply online in a sign of the business struggling to stay afloat.

A popular Aussie gym franchise has suffered an epic fall from grace with staff laid off, mass resignations from board members and its share price staying stubbornly low.

And now it’s emerged that a number of stores have gone into liquidation in the past several months while gym equipment is being sold incredibly cheaply online in a sign of the business struggling to stay afloat.

F45 Training – which known for its functional high intensity interval training (HIIT) classes that takes place in 45 minutes – was at first an Australian success story after hitting the New York Stock Exchange in 2021 and raking in $500 million on the first day.

But what’s happened since then has left the franchise scrambling.

News.com.au can reveal that in the past six months, four gyms have gone into liquidation.

Now gym equipment branded with the F45 logo is being sold on Facebook Marketplace in a massive bargain for buyers.

Listings show that piles of dumbbells are up for sale for just $3 a kilo, while kettlebells are being sold for even less, at $2 per kilo.

This stack of dumbbells was put up for sale.

The fitness empire has been struggling.

On September 9 last year, the F45 franchise in Yeppoon, in coastal Queensland, went into liquidation, with Michael Beck of Worrells insolvency firm appointed as the liquidator.

Just a month later, a Melbourne F45 branch in the suburb of Sunshine also went under.

Peter Malone of CRS Insolvency, was the appointed liquidator, and a company spokesperson advised news.com.au the company has ceased to trade in March that year. It’s understood they were no longer able to enter the premises of the gym.

Then in November, F45 Newstead, in Queensland, also put in its liquidation papers, as did an F45 gym in Mount Barker, South Australia.

Liquidator of the Mount Barker establishment, Stephen James of BCR Advisory, told news.com.au that the business was hit by declining member numbers which “the owner tried but couldn’t turn around”.

Facebook users can now buy this equipment at cheap rates.

F45 has had a fall from grace since its debut on the US stock exchange.

Just this week, two other gyms are under threat of being shut down.

On Monday, both the South Yarra and Port Melbourne branches of F45 in Victoria had a winding up application taken against them.

Both are understood to owe debts to Bizcap AU, a small business loan service, which lodged the winding up application in court.

Last Wednesday, three prominent board members also quit, which could also explain the timing of the sudden listings of F45 equipment on social media.

Travel CEO Vanessa Douglas, Canstar chief technical officer Angelo Demasi and sports lecturer Lee Wallace resigned from the company’s board.

News.com.au has contacted F45 head office for comment.

Founder of F45 Training and former CEO Adam Gilchrist. Picture: Noam Galai/Getty Images

Adam Gilchrist and Rob Deutsch founded the company in 2013 in the Sydney suburb of Paddington and it expanded across Australia and even globally.

Mr Deutsch left the company in February 2020.

In May last year, F45 thought it had secured a $US250 million ($A350 million) line of credit to keep rapidly expanding but by the next investor’s meeting in July, this had fallen through.

After planning to roll out 1500 new franchises in 2022, the embattled company instead reduced its outlook for between 350 and 450 gym and its forecasted revenue dropped from $US275 million ($A387 million) to $US130 million ($A182 million).

On top of that, 110 staff were also laid off. At the same time, the company also announced that founder and CEO Mr Gilchrist would be stepping down from his position.

Stock prices dipped to 62 per cent of its original price following the news, when it sank to $US1.35 ($A1.90) on July 27. It has not properly recovered ever since.

At time of writing, it was trading at US$2.55 a share, according to Market Watch, down significantly from its IPO price of $US17.