Sydney UFC gym franchise collapses

An independent Western Sydney-based franchisee of the UFC Gym chain has gone into liquidation with debts of more than $1.2 million.

Just over a month after the master franchisor for UFC Gyms in Australia appointed administrators, UFC Macarthur Square is being liquidated, although for unrelated reasons, with debts of more than $1.2 million.

In June, companies behind the UFC Gym Australia franchise entered administration after losing a court case with several disgruntled franchisee owners.

Subsequently, UFC Macarthur Square went into liquidation on 11th July with all employees were terminated three days later.

The company’s registered business name was Elvis Sinosic Enterprises Pty Ltd but it traded under the name UFC Macarthur Square.

At its peak, UFC Gym Australia had more than 10 gyms across the country but the collapse of the Macarthur Square club marks the seventh gym to go under or leave the UFC Gym brand in the past six months.

Ian Niccol of insolvency firm Aston Chace Group is the appointed liquidator for UFC Macarthur Square.

A document lodged with Australian Securities and Investment Committion shows that the business has debts of $1.2 million, included a debt of $1 million to Sinosic.

As reported by News Ltd, the company’s landlord and the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) are also owed money.

Sinosic, a retired Australian professional mixed martial artist, told News Ltd that his company went under “as a direct result of the government’s mishandling of Covid over the last couple of years and their lack of any support for small businesses”.

He added said the master franchisor of UFC Gym Australia going into administration also led to a “lack of customer confidence” in the brand.

According to the liquidator, the ATO issued a penalty notice against Sinosic over an unpaid tax debt.

As a result, if he hadn’t placed the company into liquidation, he would have been personally liable for the unpaid tax.

A UFC Gym Australia spokesperson said the former franchisee and the franchisor together agreed for him to relinquish the Macarthur franchise with the site now taken back by head office.

The spokesperson told News Ltd “the franchisor continues to operate the MacArthur gym uninterrupted and customers have experienced uninterrupted service levels throughout.”

Image: Elvis Sinosic (left) promoting UFC Macarthur Square.