The chief executive of Australia’s second-biggest pub operator with 170 outlets says customer numbers are back to 100 per cent of pre-pandemic levels, with brisk activity at booming suburban venues offsetting quieter CBD trade.

Paul Waterson said Australian Venue Co –named as a $1 billion IPO aspirant by The Australian Financial Review’s Street Talk column – is on the hunt for acquisitions in an industry where many smaller operators are “considering their options” after a bruising 2020.