The Morning Brief · 22 October 2026
Shared Beginnings
On 19 October 2026 seven childcare centres in Australia went into administration. Their owner was not a childcare company. It was a lender. So how did a lender end up holding the keys?
A lender that became a childcare owner.
Shared Beginnings owns and operates seven early learning centres in Queensland, Victoria and the ACT. It is a subsidiary of Finexia Financial Group, a private lender listed in Australia that specialised in childcare loans. Finexia set it up to take over the centres of borrowers who could not pay.
Steady income from childcare loans.
Finexia raised money from investors and lent it to childcare operators. The promise was calm, monthly income.
- A fund paying 10% a year, distributed monthlyFinexia Childcare Income Fund, as reported by Business News AustraliaFund winding down
- Stopped short
The Finexia Childcare Income Fund is growing rapidly, and our first target is to reach $100 million
Patrick Bell, CEO, Finexia, to Stockhead - Steady the centres, then sell them and repay investorsThe Shared Beginnings plan, as reported in Aug 2025Administration
One minute read. Four to go.
The Power Test · Question 13 of 35
If your largest borrower failed tomorrow, would you have to run their business yourself?
This question is about your company, not Shared Beginnings.
Your answer stays on this screen. The advice opens free when you join the Morning Brief.
- In your company
- The sign: your company lends money or gives credit against security. The check: ask what you would do with that security if a customer failed. The move: if you could not run it or turn it into cash quickly, count it as weaker.
- In your investments
- The sign: a lending fund’s steady monthly payout, only as steady as the loans behind it. The check: read what the loans are secured on, and who would run those businesses if a borrower failed. The move: compare the promised return with the risk.
- In your career
- The sign: you approve loans without asking what follows a failure. The check: picture the day you own the borrower’s business. The move: if that day would be a disaster, say so before signing, or ask for better security now.
— Max Noble
Take the short test, 2 minutes →The full chapter is in the book →
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- How a safe cushion on paper still ended in a loss, in a chart
- Why a lender should never have to run its security
- Three moves for the centres and the lender
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The cushion was on paper.
When a childcare borrower could not pay, Finexia held its centres as security. On paper, that looked safe.
In August 2025 Finexia had A$21.2 million lent to one group of borrowers, secured against assets of A$29.1 million, Business News Australia reported. Shared Beginnings was set up to take over their businesses.
In September 2026 it reported another loan of about A$24 million against assets valued at A$36 million, and said it would book a loss on it, The Sector reported. It stopped all new lending, and its childcare fund began to wind down.
On 19 October 2026 Finexia’s board stopped funding Shared Beginnings, and it went into voluntary administration. Finexia said the size of the loss was not yet certain.
Money lent against the security behind it, A$ million
Security that needs running is not security.
A building can sit empty and keep much of its value. A childcare centre cannot. It needs teachers, families and a licence every morning.
So when Finexia took over the centres, it stopped being only a lender and became a childcare operator. It is a bit like taking a restaurant as security and finding you now have to cook.
Finexia’s board called it a “prolonged and costly recovery journey” that had not produced the results it hoped for.
Security you have to run every morning is a business, not a safety net.
Finexia itself has not filed for administration. Its shares have been suspended since 2 March 2026, for not lodging a periodic report on time.
The administrators, from DVT McLeods, have taken control and will assess the options for the centres.
Three moves for the centres and the lender.
Sell the centres as running centres.
Find operators who already run childcare, so families can keep their places.
Publish the accounts.
Finexia’s investors need its overdue accounts to know what is left.
Give investors a timetable.
Wind the fund down in clear steps, and say when each payment is due.
Take Only the Collateral You Can Run
Australia, 19 October 2026. Seven childcare centres went into administration. Their owner was a lender. Finexia’s promise was calm: raise money from investors, pay them 10 percent a year, and lend it to childcare operators. Then some borrowers stopped paying. On paper Finexia was safe, with A$21.2 million lent against A$29.1 million of security. But the security was childcare centres. A childcare centre needs teachers, families and a licence every morning. It is a bit like taking a restaurant as security and finding you now have to cook. Finexia set up Shared Beginnings to run the centres. Then Finexia’s board stopped funding it. Security that needs running is a business. Take only the collateral you can run.
— Max Noble
Finexia lent against childcare centres. When it had to run them, the security became the problem.
From the book in preparationThe 52 Laws of Business Power · the 2027 edition, out 31 OctoberRead every law so far →
The Power Test · Question 13 of 35
If your largest borrower failed tomorrow, would you have to run their business yourself?
This question is about your company, not Shared Beginnings.
- In your company
- The sign: your company lends money or gives credit against security. The check: ask what you would do with that security if a customer failed. The move: if you could not run it or turn it into cash quickly, count it as weaker.
- In your investments
- The sign: a lending fund’s steady monthly payout, only as steady as the loans behind it. The check: read what the loans are secured on, and who would run those businesses if a borrower failed. The move: compare the promised return with the risk.
- In your career
- The sign: you approve loans without asking what follows a failure. The check: picture the day you own the borrower’s business. The move: if that day would be a disaster, say so before signing, or ask for better security now.
— Max Noble
Take the short test, 2 minutes →The full chapter is in the book →
You have read the case. Now make the call.
Compete in The Power GameEvery number traceable.
- Finexia ASX announcement via Listcorp, 19 Oct 2026: voluntary administration, seven centres, DVT McLeods, subsidiary · listcorp.com
- Business News Australia, 20 Oct 2026: board stops funding, “prolonged and costly recovery journey” · businessnewsaustralia.com
- ASX, 2 Mar 2026: suspension for not lodging a periodic report · asx.com.au
- Business News Australia, 6 Aug 2025: A$21.2m against A$29.1m, Shared Beginnings set up to take over the centres · businessnewsaustralia.com
- The Sector, 22 Sep 2026: about A$24m against A$36m, lending stopped, fund winding down · thesector.com.au
- Business News Australia: fund pays 10% a year, monthly · businessnewsaustralia.com
- Stockhead: private credit lender, CEO quote on the $100m target · stockhead.com.au
The three moves and the law are Max Noble’s analysis. Shared Beginnings has not been scored. Not investment advice.
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Take Only the Collateral You Can Run
The same mistake, in your own world. Free, from the book.
- In your company
- The sign: your company lends money or gives credit against security. The check: ask what you would do with that security if a customer failed. The move: if you could not run it or turn it into cash quickly, count it as weaker.
- In your investments
- The sign: a lending fund’s steady monthly payout, only as steady as the loans behind it. The check: read what the loans are secured on, and who would run those businesses if a borrower failed. The move: compare the promised return with the risk.
- In your career
- The sign: you approve loans without asking what follows a failure. The check: picture the day you own the borrower’s business. The move: if that day would be a disaster, say so before signing, or ask for better security now.