Football star David Beckham and golfer Greg Norman are suing F45 Training through their licensing company claiming F45 Training has not paid them as agreed to.
Beckham and Norman claim that F45 Training has not followed through on its commitment to pay them cash and equity compensation due them in exchange for their promotion of the brand. Beckham was to have been paid $1.5 million annually and additionally in stock of the company, according to a copy of the suit obtained by The Blast but not seen by Club Industry.
Beckham and Norman are represented by the Authentic Brands Group (ABG), a global brand owner, development and entertainment company, which is the company that filed the lawsuit.
Representatives from ABG have not responded to requests from Club Industry for comment.
However, F45 Training released the following statement: "F45 is disappointed to learn about the recent lawsuit filed by the licensing company for David Beckham, Authentic Brands Group (ABG). F45 believes this suit is an attempt by ABG to unreasonably profit off the rights it purchased from Mr. Beckham, despite ABG prematurely terminating Mr. Beckham's relationship with F45. F45 deeply values the relationships with all of its ambassadors, including Mr. Beckham, and does not believe this lawsuit has any bearing on, or is an accurate reflection of, F45’s relationship with Mr. Beckham."
Beckham has been a partner since 2020. In addition to Beckham and Norman, F45 Training has promotional partnerships with model Cindy Crawford and former NBA star Magic Johnson. Actor Mark Wahlberg has a 36 percent stake in F45 Training.
In March 2022, Beckham invested in an F45 Training 3,500-square-foot studio in London along with Haydn Elliott and Tristan Smith, who are franchisees of other F45 locations, too. F45 Training declined to say whether Beckham is still part owner of that facility.
The lawsuit comes as an active investor, Kennedy Lewis Investment Management LP (KLIM) is seeking to buy the company and take it private. F45 Training went public in July 2021, setting its IPO price at $16 per share. Its stock has underperformed during that time. Its shares traded at $17.28 at one time, but now trade at $3.48 per share.
At the time of its IPO, then-CEO Adam Gilchrist told Club Industry that one of the reasons to go public was that the company had a pre-IPO investor who had a mandate to create some liquidity. Gilchrist did not specify who that investor was.
In July, F45 Training announced a restructuring that included the departure of Gilchrist as CEO (although he remains on the board as a non-employee board member) as well as the layoff of 110 corporate employees.
In August, the company reaffirmed a downgrade in its 2022 financial guidance, projecting 2022 revenue of between $120 million and $130 million compared to prior guidance of $255 million to $275 million. Its 2021 revenue was $134 million.