Prominent fitness center operator F45 Training is being sued by English football star David Beckham and Australian former pro-golfer Greg Norman for over $20 million, The Blast has reported.
According to the media outlet, both Beckham and Norman allege that they entered into promotional agreements with the firm which would involve yearly payments – in Beckham’s case, $1.5 million – and a percentage of the company’s stock.
In 2021 the company went public while valued three times higher than it was two years before, allegedly in no small part thanks to the athletes’ efforts in promoting F45.
However, in 2022 the company’s fortunes waned, with “fiscal mismanagement and macroeconomic pressures” being mentioned in the lawsuit, and F45 “allegedly withheld millions of dollars in contractually obligated consideration to both Beckham and Norman,” the media outlet noted.
Legal documents obtained by The Blast also allege that F45 gave “preferential treatment” to other investors, thus allowing them to profit more from their ownership.
The ranks of the F45’s investors include famous film actor Mark Wahlberg, who purchased a 36 percent stake in the company in 2019. The lawsuit argues that Wahlberg’s connection to Beckham led to the latter signing on to F45.