Australian fuel supplier Mobil has been ordered by the Federal Court to pay $16 million in penalties for making misleading representations about fuel sold at nine petrol stations in north and central Queensland, according to an Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) release.
Mobil admitted that for varying periods between August 2020 and July 2024 it made false or misleading claims to consumers through branding and signage which indicated that the fuel being sold was ‘Mobil Synergy Fuel’ containing certain additives when in fact the fuel supplied at these sites was the same or substantially the same as unadditised fuel at other non-Mobil retail sites.
The nine Mobil petrol stations where this conduct occurred were in the north and central Queensland towns and suburbs of Aitkenvale, Barcaldine, Berserker, Biloela, Guthalungra, Proserpine, Rasmussen, Rural View and Yeppoon. The ACCC’s case was brought solely against Mobil Oil Australia, not the individual retailers operating the nine sites. Mobil is the exclusive supplier of fuel to convenience and service station chain 7-Eleven in Australia. Read more 1; Read more 2
190-store food chain sold for $160 million
The private equity owners of Japanese food brand Sushi Sushi has sold the 190-store network for $160 million to the world’s largest operator of Japanese fast food restaurants, according to a media report.
Sushi Sushi owner Odyssey Private Equity reportedly began looking for buyers in August last year, with advisors initially seeking expressions of interest above $160 million. Japanese food specialist Genki Global Dining Concepts has been operating food brands in Japan since 1968, with its acquisition of the nearly 30-year-old Sushi Sushi brand understood to be its first foray into the Australian market.
Odyssey Private Equity acquired the brand in 2019 for a reported $50 million, according to a media report. Sushi Sushi plans to expand its Australian footprint from 190 to 450 stores. Read more 1; Read more 2
Retail franchise goes into administration
Australia’s largest barbecue and outdoor furniture retailer, Barbeques Galore, has been placed into voluntary administration just months after it was bought by a United States-based private equity firm, according to a media report.
The chain has 68 company-owned stores and 27 franchise locations across Australia, and will continue to trade while administrators seek to restructure or sell the business. However the brand and administrators have come under fire over its new gift voucher policy which now requires holders of gift vouchers to spend $2 for every $1 they redeem using a voucher since the business entered administration.
US private equity firm Gordon Brothers bought the chain in late 2025 for what is believed to have been a nominal amount. Barbeques Galore CEO David White says the administration was prompted by poor cash flow in the business, while unions and other commentators have blamed the cost of living and the increase in apartments for reduced demand for the brand’s products. Read more 1; Read more 2
Rival brand rules out buying 90-store multi-unit franchisee
Publicly-listed pharmacy operator Sigma Healthcare, parent company of Chemist Warehouse and smaller brands Amcal, Guardian, PharmaSave and Discount Drug Stores, has ruled-out buying the stricken Infinity Pharmacy Group, according to a media report.
Infinity Pharmacy is the single-largest franchisee of rival chain Priceline, and operates 92 pharmacies, more than 70 of which are Priceline-branded stores. Infinity was forced into receivership in December after Priceline franchisor and drug wholesaler Australian Pharmaceuticals Industries (API) discontinued its support for a last-minute rescue deal for the ailing company, which owes creditors in excess of $400 million, including a combined total of $145 million to Westpac, NAB, and Commonwealth Bank. API is owned by publicly-listed Wesfarmers, the parent company of hardware chain Bunnings.
Sigma has stated it is not interested in the Infinity group, but may pick-off individual stores. The Pharmacy Guild has flagged competition concerns if Chemist Warehouse acquires the group. The administrator for the Infinity group has indicated it could be worth $500 million as it commences a sale process for the group as a whole, or clusters of individual stores, with bids due at the end of February. Read more 1; Read more 2; Read more 3; Read more 4
Nostalgic food brand to return to Australia
More than five years after it closed the doors of its last store in Australia, steak and buffet salad restaurant franchise Sizzler will return with new stores to be opened by the parent company of one of Australia’s largest coffee chains, according to a media report.
The Minor Hotel group will relaunch the Sizzler brand in Australia with an outlet in its new hotel at Sydney airport in the coming months. Minor is an international conglomerate of hospitality businesses which includes The Coffee Club in Australia.
Sizzler first launched in Australia in 1985 and quickly became popular for its value pricing and all-you-can-eat buffet. The brand’s Australian operations were owned at the time by listed public company Collins Foods, which also owns and operates hundreds of KFC outlets in Australia and overseas. Sizzler peaked at 74 outlets in 1992, but began a slow decline to 17 locations by 2017, and in late 2020 closed its doors for good after the pandemic disrupted the business.
The new operators plan to open more locations in hotels around Australia. Read more
Liquidators to examine franchisor’s role in failed businesses
Liquidators for 10 stores and three management entities associated with Melbourne-based burger chain Burgertory and its parent QSR Collective are likely to force the franchise’s founder to appear at a public examination into the group’s assets, according to a media report.
Burgertory founder Hash Tayeh may be required to attend a public examination as liquidators look to recover nearly $1 million in superannuation owed to staff and a further $2.3 million owed to other creditors.
Liquidators appointed last year after the Australian Taxation Offie (ATO) won Federal Court orders to wind up 13 entities associated with Tayeh. Liquidators have reported breaches of the Corporations Act and raised concerns about transactions with related entities, breaches of director’s duties, insolvent trading and the disposal of assets prior to the liquidation.
The Burgertory chain continues to operate and has 11 franchisees according to its listing on the Australian Government’s Franchise Disclosure website.
Liquidators are also concerned that despite resigning as a director of Burgertory companies last year, Tayeh continued to exercise effective control, including of the entities’ bank accounts. Tayeh is also a high-profile supporter of Palestine and has previously been charged with using insulting words in public for a chant at a Melbourne CBD rally, while one of his burger outlets was allegedly firebombed in response to his activism. Read more 1; Read more 2
National brand to buy back all franchises
National telecommunications chain Optus has announced it will buy back all the remaining franchised stores in its network after receiving a $100m fine last year predatory sales practices, according to a media report.
Optus will buy back 80 franchised outlets, joining 34 it bought back last year from franchisees in South Australia, Queensland and the Northern Territory, to bring its 240-store network under complet company ownership.
The company, which is owned by Singaporean parent Singtel, will buy back its remaining franchised stores to ensure control over sales practices following last year’s scandal in which customers, including vulnerable and indigenous Australians, were sold mobile phones when there was no coverage where they lived, and bypassing credit checks that resulted in customers being saddled with unsustainable debts.
Optus joins a growing list of large corporations to abandon franchising, including rival telecommunications chain Telstra which exitd franchising during the pandemic, second-tier bank Bank of Queensland which exited franchising in 2024, and fuel retail chain Ampol (formerly Caltex). Read more
Buyer rescues retail chain from administration
Administrators have executed binding documents to sell Brisbane-based jewellery chain Secrets Shhh to a privately owned jewellery group headquartered in Dubai for an undisclosed sum, according to a media report.
Under the deal, Amaar Jewels will acquire Secret Shhh’s business and assets, including the majority of its retail stores and more than 100 staff.
Secret Shhh, which pioneered the sale of laboratory-grown and simulated diamonds in Australia, reportedly only had one franchisee at the time of its last listing update on the Australian Government’s Franchise Disclosure Register, but is understood to have been majority franchised across its network some time previously. Read more
Proposed fuel chain acquisition subject to further review
Approval for fuel retailer Ampol to acquire rival EG Group has been deferred by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) while it further considers the potential for reduced competition, according to a media statement.
The acquisition, which was first announced in August last year, involves Ampol acquiring approximately 500 sites from EG Australia for approximately $1.1 billion, and generating savings of $65-$85 million in synergies across the combined operations.
However the ACCC has identified 115 EG sites where the acquisition could substantially lessen competition in local markets, particularly in metropolitan areas of Brisbane, Canberra and Sydney.
Ampol had previously offered to divest 19 sites over reduced competition concerns, however the ACCC’s finding that 115 locations will be affected has led to an extension of its approval timeframe. Read more
Fitness franchise and founder fined for copyright infringement
Sydney-based fitness brand S1, which launched in 2001 with aspirations to be the next F45, has been fined more than $131,000 for breaches of music copyright by playing unlicensed music in its outlets, according to a Federal Court decision.
The court found that five S1 outlets (four of which have since closed), played music for which it did not have an Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) license during APRA audits conducted between late 2021 and late 2023.
S1 launched in Australia in early 2021 as the local franchise for US-based fitness chain Sweat 1000. According to a media report at the time, the Australian operations were co-founded by former NRL player Beau Ryan and Sydney businessman and automotive trade figure Keiran Turner, and was touted at the time as being a future rival for Australian-developed international fitness chain F45, with hundreds of franchises expected to open in the next few years.
Co-founder Turner was named in the Federal Court copyright judgement as the sole director of each of the five S1 locations in New South Wales and Victoria involved in the copyright breaches, and ignored communications alerting him to the breaches at the time they were uncovered. The Federal Court found Turner personally liable for the copyright breaches and award damages and interest costs against him of more than $175,000.
S1 currently operates only one location, and continues to offer franchises on its website however does not appear to be listed on the Australian Government’s Franchise Disclosure register. Read more
Accelerate franchise resales with better processes
A two-part online course to help franchisors and review and improve their franchise resales processes will be held on April 28 and 30.
Managing Franchise Resales examines common problems in resale processes, including the expected timeframes and price outcomes of franchisees selling their businesses, as well as navigating the process of dealing with a franchisee’s potential buyer.
The online course is live and interactive, with participants gaining specific insights into their brand’s individual circumstances and potential to improve and streamline resales processes. For more information or to register, click here
Jason Gehrke is the Director of the Franchise Advisory Centre and has been involved in franchising for more than 30 years at franchisee, franchisor and advisor level. He advises both existing and potential franchisors and franchisees, and conducts regular education courses for franchisors in Australia and overseas. He has been awarded for his franchise achievements, and publishes Franchise News, Australia’s only fortnightly electronic news bulletin on franchising issues.
