Power List preview: Qld’s pub barons rising in Covid’s wake
It’s been a rough couple of years for the pub industry, thanks to Covid, but some players have risen above to lead the sector into brighter times. See who are forging ahead.
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It’s been a rough couple of years for the pub industry, thanks to Covid and a raft of imposed restrictions, but some players have risen above to lead the sector into brighter times.
Find out where they rank, alongside other movers and shakers in the tourism and hospitality industries, in tomorrow’s Courier-Mail.
We’ll reveal the top 70 most powerful people in this vital sector for the Queensland economy.
It is a massive project that only The Courier-Mail has the resources and courage to undertake.
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Scroll to the bottom to read how we selected the list
BOB EAST
AUSTRALIAN VENUE CO CHAIR
A respected industry leader and former Tourism Australia board chair, Bob East heads a dynamic company that operates more than 180 venues from coast to coast, tailoring pubs to suit the local market rather than adopting a cookie-cutter approach. There are 80 pubs and bistros in Queensland alone, including the Beenleigh Tavern, Cleveland Sands, Carindale and Newnham Hotel.
TERRY MORRIS
MORRIS INTERNATIONAL OWNER
Spirited entrepreneur Terry Morris is the founder of the Gold Coast’s Carrara Markets and arguably Queensland’s best known winery, Sirromet Wines in Mount Cotton – but he is also behind The Good Times Pub Group, which has nine pubs across the Gold Coast, Scenic Rim, Lockyer Valley, Darling Downs and Ipswich.
BRUCE MATHIESON SNR
PUB KING
The Gold Coast based pub king built up his poker machine and pub empire through Australian Liquor and Hospitality in a joint venture with supermarket giant Woolworths. Last year Woolworths bought out his stake in ALH in exchange for a minority stake of 14.6 per cent in the $13bn ASX-listed Endeavour Group.
In June Mathieson stepped down from the Endeavour Group board and was replaced by son Bruce Jr. They are now focusing on the family business and recently bought the Redbrick Hotel in Woolloongabba, their fourth in southeast Queensland.
TOM McGUIRE
McGUIRES HOTELS DIRECTOR
Overseeing the largest family owned chain of hotels in Queensland, Tom McGuire lives and breathes pubs. For four generations his family has been an industry force, and their popular venues across Brisbane and the Gold Coast included the Calamvale, Colmslie and Alexandra Hills hotels. McGuire is also president of the Queensland Hotels Association and works hard to advocate for the industry.
STEVEN SHOOBRIDGE
STAR HOTELS GROUP MANAGING DIRECTOR AND CEO
Queensland’s largest independently owned hospitality management company has a portfolio of around 30 licenced venues and more than 60 retail liquor outlets across Queensland and South Australia. Its popular pubs can be found in Brisbane, Townsville, Rockhampton, Ayr, Maroochydore, Mackay, Tully, Bowen, Murgon, Gladstone, Yeppoon, Bargara and elsewhere. Last year Shoobridge began plans to redevelop Townsville’s entertainment and dining scene, buying the former Townsville Central Hotel, as well as the Shamrock Hotel.
CHRIS MORRIS
MORRIS GROUP EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN
The founder of ASX top 50 global company Computershare, Chris Morris is owner of Brisbane’s The Fox hotel. But his interests in tourism extend well beyond, with his family-run company also running The Ville Resort-Casino in Townsville, Daintree Ecolodge, Flying Fish luxury charters in the Great Barrier Reef, Daintree Village Hotel, Mt Mulligan Lodge west of Cairns, Orpheus Island Lodge and Pelorus Island.
MATT, SEAN AND JOE HEANEN AND SCOTT HEMPEL
HALLMARK HOSPITALITY
This Gold Coast-based hospitality group – comprising the Heanen brothers and Scott Hempel – aims to reinvent the nightlife scene across Queensland with its diverse portfolio of pubs, clubs, bars and restaurants. From iconic Toowoomba watering hole The Spotted Cow to Brisbane’s award-winning Lefty’s Music Hall and the recently launched Cuban-inspired restaurant, cocktail bar and entertainment venue Hey Chica, the group’s 12 venues continue to grow, expand and innovate to remain fresh and relevant in an ever-fickle industry.
JIM DAVIES
AUSHOTELS MANAGING DIRECTOR
This award-winning outfit consists of four Queensland venues: Orion Hotel in Springfield, Exchange Hotel in Kilcoy, and Archive Beer Boutique and Loft both in West End. Archive is considered one of the pioneers of the craft beer scene in Brisbane, helping launch many small local breweries by stocking their ranges in the bar and giving them the volume sales needed to expand. AusHotels recently signed on as the new operator of Ipswich’s Commonwealth Hotel, with its restoration part of a $250 million revitalisation project for the Nicholas St Precinct.
CRAIG ELLISON
AUSTRALIAN VENUE CO CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER
Twenty-four renovations in four years, that’s the daring and ambitious plan of this hotel empire for its portfolio of 80 pubs and hospitality venues across Queensland. Craig Ellison is passionate about ensuring each venue speaks to its local demographic. Spending between $2m and $3m on renovations at each venue, the company has transformed the likes of the Bonny View Hotel in Bald Hills, the Wallaby Hotel in Mudgeeraba, Fitzy’s in Loganholme and Kings Beach Tavern on the Sunshine Coast.
HOW DID WE DETERMINE THE LISTS?
Firstly, The Courier-Mail senior leadership team engaged the newsroom – reporters on the ground and in the know, those whose job it is to cover these sectors every single day.
The leadership team then used its combined years of experience and extensive contacts to brainstorm more names, adding and culling – all the while consulting with external experts and trusted sources in relevant fields.
We have excluded current executives and editors of News Corp, The Courier-Mail, Foxtel and Fox Sports. That is because News Corp Australia is the publisher of The Courier-Mail, and owns 65 per cent of Foxtel.
We understand that any such list is bound to be subjective, and is by no means exhaustive – but this list is as accurate a one as possible to produce in terms of where things are right now.
It is a unique insight into who calls the shots in Queensland. And as a subscriber it is yours exclusively.
But remember that power is more often than not temporary. Who plays large in 2022 might not be so powerful in 2023. Watch this space.
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