Block star Dave Franklin’s landscaping company chased over debt

TV regular Dave Franklin’s luxury landscape and pools business is entering liquidation.

The Melbourne-based but nationally known Franklin is used to seeing his name in the credits of hit shows he has appeared on, but this week it instead appeared on a Victorian Supreme Court listing.

The company that shares its name with the green thumb, known for his various appearances on The Block, The Garden Hustle and Australia’s Best Pools, is being pursued over an unpaid $6564.43 debt.

Court documents show Franklin Group Australia, of which Franklin is the sole director according to ASIC, is alleged to owe Geelong business Connectus Recruitment, now known as R & S Dalton Pty Ltd, for six unpaid invoices, dated from October to December 2025, as well as $60.23 in interest and legal costs of $2200.

An application for Franklin Group Australia to be wound up over the unpaid debt was lodged on behalf of the company by H Litigation on Monday. Court documents show R & S Dalton Pty Ltd has asked that Richard Lawrence from Mackay Goodwin be appointed as liquidator.

The application was triggered after Franklin Group Australia received a demand to pay up on February 26, 2026 and allegedly failed to settle the debt within 21 days.

On Thursday, Franklin confirmed to CBD that Franklin Group Australia was being liquidated.

“Franklin Group has recently been the subject of a winding-up application brought by another company, which has ultimately resulted in the business entering liquidation. Over the past year, I have been battling with some health issues, which has given me a different perspective on what matters most. After careful consideration, I have decided that my health and my family need to be my priority,” he told CBD.

“Like many businesses in the construction industry, Franklin Group has also faced significant challenges, including difficult market conditions and increasing pressures across the sector.

“I am extremely proud of what we achieved at Franklin Group and grateful to our staff, subcontractors, suppliers, and clients who supported us over the years. It is a great regret that the company has reached this point, but I leave knowing we built something that made a positive impact on many people’s lives.”

Franklin has not had a good run of late, revealing in June 2025 that he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer.

In April, The Age revealed Melbourne couple Bindy and David Koadlow had launched Supreme Court action that month against Franklin and his wife Jane, claiming they are owed a $2.6 million loan. At the time, a lawyer for Dave Franklin said allegations that he had failed to repay a significant loan were false. Last year, the Australian Tax Office successfully enforced a director penalty notice against Franklin in the County Court, making him personally liable for $2.4 million in unpaid tax debts across four of his companies.

R & S Dalton Pty Ltd’s legal representative has been approached for comment.

Last supper in South Yarra for outgoing AFL chair Richard Goyder

Commissioners past and present have gathered in a pricey South Yarra subterranean dining room for a private farewell to outgoing AFL chairman Richard Goyder.

On Wednesday evening, the last supper – or rather elevated modern Japanese experience – at upmarket restaurant Yugen Dining situated in the bowels of the Capitol Grand building, was attended by a powerful mix of current and former members of the AFL commission and executive.

While CBD’s invite got lost in the mail, we hear that while the guest list was limited to around 60, the names in the room were impressive.

Former AFL chair Mike Fitzpatrick was there, as was newly appointed league chairman Craig Drummond. Former governor of Victoria, ex-AFL commissioner and current deputy chair of the Australian Grand Prix Corporation Linda Dessau was present, as was Victoria Racing Club chief executive Kylie Rogers, Australian Grand Prix Corporation chief executive Travis Auld, Mr Melbourne Eddie McGuire, and Tabcorp chief executive (and former AFL chief executive) Gillon McLachlan.

Also in the room were AFL chief executive Andrew Dillon and Tom Harley, the league’s chief operating officer, along with footy and business identities Colin Carter, Dr Sonja Hood, Paul Bassat, Brian Walsh, Laura Kane, Greg Swann and Jay Allen. It is quite the network.

An experienced business and board executive, Goyder joined the AFL Commission in 2012 and served as chair from 2017 through to March this year when he handed over the reins to Drummond.

Private equity boss ‘crashes into five cars’

It’s not often these days that we see someone with the profile of Joel Thickins, the Australian head of private equity giant TPG Capital, get caught up with police.

But such was the case earlier this week when police attended the site of a car crash in Sydney’s eastern suburbs on Monday, where Thickins allegedly crashed his BMW into a Mazda, before allegedly crashing into another four parked cars on York Road in Queens Park. Whoops.

What’s more: Thickins allegedly refused a roadside breath test. The high-profile private equity boss, who also acts as the co-head of TPG’s Asia operation, was arrested and taken to Paddington Police Station in Sydney for a breath analysis, NSW Police told CBD in a statement, which he also allegedly refused.

“He was given a Court Attendance Notice for negligent driving and refuse or fail to submit to breath analysis,” the police statement said. Thickins will appear before Waverley Local Court on June 30. TPG declined to comment.