THE HIGHS AND LOWS OF THE F45 EMPIRE
NN 2013
Aussies Adam Gilchrist (not the cricketer) – who is bankrupt at the time – and Rob Deutsch found F45, a gym chain based on highintensity energy-burning 45 minute workouts.
The group starts with one gym, run by Deutsch, but is quickly a smash hit, boasting 500 franchises within two years.
NN 2019
Actor Mark Wahlberg is among those feeling the vibrations as F45 takes off worldwide.
Mark Wahlberg Investments Group (MWIG), which is a quarter owned by the former rapper, pours $US100m ($A150m) into the company, valuing it at $US450m and sparking talk of a stock market float.
NN October 6, 2020
Deutsch cashes out, selling his shares in F45 and leaving the company. Deutsch receives a total of $US145m, which includes a bonus of $US2.5m, and leaves Gilchrist in charge as the company prepares for its stock exchange listing.
NN July 15, 2021
Wahlberg rings the fabled New York Stock Exchange bell as F45 shares begin trade at $US16 a share, generating gigantic paper profits for him and Gilchrist. MWIG emerges with 29 per cent of the company, worth $US413m while Gilchrist’s 25 per cent stake is worth $US367m.
NN July 24, 2022
Gilchrist resigns as F45 reveals it has missed ambitious revenue targets, sending the share price – which had already been falling since the listing – into a tailspin.
Over the next few days, shares that were trading for around $US3.75 fall to as low as $US1.35.
Ben Coates takes over as interim chief executive.
NN February 14, 2023
As franchisees flee or go to the wall, F45 gets a muchneeded $US90m ($A134m) cash injection from an existing shareholder, Kennedy Lewis Management. But it’s at a price, with interest on the loan charged at 12 per cent.