The Cremorne Club, a trendy gym in the Melbourne suburb of Richmond, has become the latest in a string of fitness centres to go bust, leaving clients in limbo.
The club, which was becoming known as a celebrity hangout, had seen the likes of Real Housewives of Melbourne star Lydia Schiavello and retired NRL legend Nate Myles through its doors.
Celebrity realtor and Survivor alumni Fraser Lack, swimwear entrepreneur Erin Deeringm, Bondi Sands tanning products founder Shaun Wilson and models Tess Shanahan and Lulu Liberman are also among the clientele.
At a premium fee of $430 per month, the gym offers a boutique health and fitness experience complete with pre-workout drinks and post-workout protein shakes.
However, on Tuesday, clients received messages notifying them that their memberships were voided and all direct debits and membership payments had ceased, the Daily Mail reports.
Administrators Brooke and Bird sent out a notice, following up on the text, notifying members that the gym was now in voluntary receivership.
“At present, we have suspended all memberships to the gym and temporarily halted trading at the premises pending our review of the company’s financial position,” the notice said.
“Those with prepaid memberships are considered ‘unsecured creditors,’ and they were advised a separate email will be sent about their situation.”
The collapse of the Cremorne Club has left clients feeling frustrated and disappointed, with some unsure if they will be able to recover the money they had paid for their memberships. “It’s just a bit of a kick in the teeth,” said one client, who preferred to remain anonymous, told the Daily Mail.
“I’ve been going there for a while now, and it’s frustrating to have my membership suddenly suspended like this. I just hope I’ll be able to get my money back.”
Administrators for the Cremorne Club have expressed hopes that a buyer could be willing to take over the gym.
“We have also commenced talks with a party interested in acquiring the gym to reopen shortly,” the letter stated.
Corporate watchdog ASIC said there would be an online meeting of creditors scheduled for April 21, where those wishing to attend would have to provide proof of the debts incurred by 4pm on April 20.
The Cremorne Club’s collapse comes as Australians make cuts to unnecessary spending amid soaring inflation and interest rates, with gym memberships often on the chopping block.
Two other high-profile fitness chains, Infinite Cycle and F45, have already shut down multiple franchises in the past 12 months, leaving many of their remaining locations up for sale.
In March, news.com.au obtained the financial documents of a F45 gym operating out of Sydney looking to sell up.
The documents showed made just $6000 in net profit lin 2022 as Covid woes continue to hit the fitness industry.
F45, well-known for its high intensity interval training (HIIT) classes, has nearly 500 studios across Australia, though around ten per cent are trying to sell their businesses.
Since June last year, 12 F45 gyms have toppled, leaving several customers angry as they have been left out of pocket.
The highest individual liabilities of one of these gyms was just under $600,000 and F45-branded equipment is up for sale at incredibly cheap prices as creditors try to recover their losses.
Last month news.com.au counted 48 F45 gyms listed on sales website anybusiness.com, where the owners are looking to sell their franchise on to somebody else.
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The lowest priced franchise was selling for $59,000 while the highest two gyms were going for $2.1 million for both.
Some gyms did not have a listing price, but said they were open to expressions of interest.
That means one out of F45 10 gyms in the country are in the process of being sold.
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