Another F45 gym in Sydney has gone into liquidation as the Australian global fitness chain backed by American actor Mark Wahlberg downsizes.
F45 Training Alexandria, in Sydney’s inner south, has closed, a decade after opening in an area packed with high-rise apartments.
Members received an email on Monday directing them to another F45 gym in Rosebery, 3km away, when the Australian Securities and Investments Commission announced the liquidation.
“Thank you for contacting us, unfortunately F45 Alexandria has now closed,” it said.
‘If you would like to find out more about F45 Training, please contact the F45 Rosebery team.
‘Have a happy and healthy day! F45 Training Alexandria.’
Another F45 gym in Sydney has gone into liquidation as the global fitness chain backed by American actor Mark Wahlberg downsizes.
Personal trainer and gym owner Damian Abson, whose company DRX Fitness Pty Ltd operated the franchise, will also close his doors just months after undergoing leg surgery.
Personal trainer and gym owner Damian Abson’s company DRX Fitness Pty Ltd was registered in 2014 and operated the Alexandria franchise.
It will also close its doors just months after Abson underwent leg surgery.
He had regularly posted videos on Facebook, often dressed in outlandish outfits, including green tinsel just before Christmas.
Graeme Beattie, managing director of Worrells insolvency group in New South Wales, has been appointed administrator of F45 Alexandria.
The closure of F45 Training Alexandria is the latest in a series of F45 liquidations, including Perth Airport in June 2022, Port Melbourne in March 2023, Parramatta in western Sydney in September 2023, another Perth gym in November 2023, along with Springfield near Ipswich, Queensland. in January.
The nearby F45 Zetland gym was liquidated in May 2023.
The F45 Training Alexandria gym in Waterloo opened seven years before the company, based in Texas but founded in Australia, listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
Wahlberg, a financial backer of the gym chain, was joined by Australian founder and former CEO Adam Gilchrist to ring the New York Stock Exchange bell in July 2021.
F45’s latest chief executive, Tom Dowd, who was appointed in March last year to turn around the troubled training company, told Daily Mail Australia in September: “We are prepared to shrink to grow.”
“Closing unproductive locations to add value to existing studios strengthens our system,” he said in a statement.
The F45 Training Alexandria gym in Waterloo opened its doors in September 2016, five years before the company, based in Texas but founded in Australia, listed on the New York Stock Exchange in July 2021. Wahlberg (left) , a financial backer of the gym chain, was joined by Australian founder Adam Gilchrist (right)
‘A An important aspect of our real estate strategy is to avoid oversaturation.
“We are focused and committed to supporting our franchise network; their operational success helps ensure the entire system becomes stronger.”
F45, which started in 2012 with a gym in Sydney, grew to have 1,555 studios and 2,801 franchises in 63 countries by mid-2021. Its goal was to ultimately have 23,000 studios worldwide.
Wahlberg, through his investment company, bought a majority stake in 2019 for $450 million, or A$634 million.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted F45 Training Alexandria and Worrells for comment.
