Peregrine, Thomas Foods top list of SA private companies on IBISWorld Top 500 list

Regional accommodation provider G’Day Group has surged up the list of SA’s largest private companies. But a familiar name retains the top spot.

Petrol station and convenience retail operator Peregrine Corporation has again topped a list of South Australia’s largest privately-owned companies, with annual revenue approaching $3bn.

According to annual figures compiled by research firm IBISWorld, the state’s top four private companies – Peregrine, Thomas Foods, CMV Group and Drake Supermarkets – all held their position, while RAA cracked the top five on the back of a 41 per cent increase in revenue.

Peregrine rose one spot on the list of Australia’s top 500 private companies, and is now seventh, ahead of the big four accounting firms, building company Hutchies, Chemist Warehouse and Spotlight.

Overall there were 34 SA companies on the national list, up from 30 last year.

One of the biggest movers was regional accommodation provider G’day Group - operator of Discovery Parks - which jumped three spots to 19th on the SA list following a string of acquisitions.

The company reported a 42 per cent increase in revenue in June, to $296.6m, putting it 248th on the top 500 list, compared to 327th last year.

Majority owned by Australian Retirement Trust, G’Day Group is Australia’s largest regional accommodation provider with around 300 properties across Australia.

Last week the company announced the acquisition of Beachfront Camping and Cottages Narooma on the NSW south coast, following other recent purchases including the Porepunkah Bridge Holiday Park in Victoria’s High Country and the Lake Argyle Resort in WA’s Kimberley region.

G’Day Group founder and chief executive Grant Wilckens said the company was looking for more acquisitions as part of an ambition to become a $2bn company within the next two-to-three years.

“We’ve got a pretty aggressive strategy,” he said.

“We’re a high growth business and we feel as though we’ve got an opportunity to exploit our market leading position, not only in the holiday park space but now in more of the resort space where we’ve bought some pretty attractive assets over the last couple of years.

G’Day Group chief executive Grant Wilckens. Picture: Morgan Sette

“We’re leaders in the holiday park space, but our future ambition is to be the most dominant tourism business in regional Australia.

“We’re just shy of $1.5bn but I’m very comfortable we’ll be at $2bn in the next couple of years for sure.”

Mr Wilckens said the company typically spent about $100m each year on acquisitions, plus an additional $100m on refurbishments and expansions of existing assets.

And while many Australians are starting to plan their overseas holidays again as Covid-19 subsides, Mr Wilckens said many others were still opting for domestic getaways closer to home.

“We’ve seen record sales of caravans and camping products so we’re very optimistic around what the market has in front of us,” he said.

“Airfares are still really expensive, and they’re only going up, and so although it’s (international travel) coming back, it’s coming back slower and it’s still quite hard to travel internationally.

“And so we do feel as though the opportunity in our space is still strong for a number of years.”

There were eight new SA entries on this year’s top 500 list, including Fairmont Homes Group and Cheap as Chips, which both had double digit revenue growth, and Accolade Wines, which has not previously been included in the IBISWorld research.

Four companies dropped off the list - digital fitness platform Sweat, Michell Wool, automotive and farming machinery company Arrowcrest and the CCW wine grape co-operative.

Darren Thomas of Thomas Foods at his property in the Hay Valley near Nairne. Picture: Brad Fleet

About 71 per cent of SA companies on the list recorded revenue growth in their most recent full-year results analysed by IBISWorld, with RAA, G’Day Group, Peter Kittle Motor Company and civil construction firm Lucas Total Contract Solutions the standout performers.

Adelaide Airport also bounced back from the depths of Covid-19, with annual revenue up 27.8 per cent in the year to June.

However 10 SA companies reported declining revenue, with construction company Sarah Group, Renmark-based grower co-operative Almondco and electrical infrastructure company Enerven the biggest losers. They all reported double digit declines in turnover.

According to IBISWorld, the top 500 private businesses across Australia generated $276.7bn in revenue, a 5.9 per cent increase on the previous year.

IBISWorld senior enterprise analyst Joel Barry said 51 companies in this year’s top 500 list operated in the building and construction industry, up from 36 last year.

“In last year’s list, construction saw negative growth of -1.62 per cent, rebounding to 8.92 per cent this year with average revenue of $500m,” he said.

Ahrens Group’s Stefan Ahrens with wife Leanne. Picture: Tricia Watkinson

“This could indicate the larger operators being able to better withstand the effect of rising material costs compared with their smaller-scale counterparts. Builders made up 9 per cent of total revenue for this year’s list.”

However food manufacturers didn’t fare so well, with 24 companies on the IBISWorld list recording an average of just 0.76 per cent revenue growth.

“In a financial year wrought by supply chain issues, it would seem that our supermarkets’ suppliers and manufacturers have been bearing much of the burden,” Mr Barry said.

Gina Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting, her iron ore and rural land empire, is the biggest business on the national IBISWorld list, twice as big as Anthony Pratt’s Visy cardboard box manufacturing and recycling business in second position.

Virtual Gaming World, run by Perth billionaire Laurence Escalante, was the big mover, jumping into sixth position after its revenue surged 38.8 per cent to a record $3.1bn.

The AFL is the 75th biggest private company in Australia, with annual revenue of almost $740m, ahead of the Australian Rugby League Commission in 109th position with $575m in annual revenue and Cricket Australia in 153rd with annual turnover of $447m.

Originally published as Peregrine, Thomas Foods top list of SA private companies on IBISWorld Top 500 list