Voluntary administrators have taken control of Shared Beginnings Pty Ltd, Finexia Financial Group's childcare recovery subsidiary, after the board withdrew funding to the business, Business News Australia reported. Bill Karageozis and Nick Keramos of DVT McLeods were appointed to examine the business and consider what options exist for its future, Finexia said.
Shared Beginnings was established as a special purpose vehicle and wholly owned subsidiary of Finexia to hold childcare centres through a debt recovery process following the collapse of Genius Early Learning. The centres are located at Sinnamon Park and Kenmore in Queensland, Reservoir, Mont Albert and Beaumaris in Victoria, and Bonython and Conder in the Australian Capital Territory.
Early Learning Management assumed operational responsibility for all 11 centres on 2 June 2025, though Shared Beginnings now operates seven centres. Orchard Early Learning went into receivership in February this year, and Finexia brought in Worrells to act as receiver.
Finexia acknowledged it had given substantial financial and operational backing to Shared Beginnings after Genius collapsed, but said the recovery effort had been drawn out, expensive and short of what the board had hoped to achieve, leaving the company unable to keep funding it. The company said it had put considerable resources into the situation to look after investors, staff and families.
From the date the administrators were appointed, Finexia expects to remove Shared Beginnings from its consolidated accounts, and the size of any resulting impairment or contingent liabilities remains undetermined. Shares in Mayfield Childcare (ASX: MFD) worth $6 million were taken by Finexia as additional collateral.
A 16 September investor update from Finexia stated that the reclassification would materially affect the group's consolidated financial statements. In that update, Finexia said its childcare exposure was the result of a legal enforcement process outside the company's control, rather than a deliberate change in investment strategy or business model. A closure process is underway for the Finexia Childcare Income Fund, but no end date has been set given the illiquid nature of the fund's assets.
Investors in the Finexia Childcare Income Fund face an indefinite wind-down period with no stated timeline for return of funds. Families using the seven early learning centres face uncertainty about continuity, as administrators now control those businesses and are assessing available options.
Official statements: Finexia
Reporting: Business News Australia
Written by Pick & Scroll News from the reporting and documents linked above.
