Mapped and profiled: The major operators who own SA’s pubs

Local and interstate operators have snapped up some of SA’s prized pubs in recent months. Explore our map of close to 250 hotels to see who owns your local.

Australian Venue Co. became one of SA’s largest pub operators in December when it acquired eight venues from the Saturno Group, including The Mile End Hotel. Picture: Supplied

Interstate investors and corporate heavyweights are splashing their cash on pubs across South Australia as the industry emerges from Covid-19, while a fast-growing local player has continued its expansion with a string of regional acquisitions.

Local investment fund Duxton Pubs, established in 2020 by investment banker Ed Peter and hospitality operators Brett Matthews and Martin Palmer, has recently taken over Port Broughton’s two pubs - the Port Broughton Hotel and Sunnyside Hotel/Motel - the Prince of Wales in Penola and Port Pirie’s Risdon Hotel.

It takes the Duxton portfolio to 12 venues, including the Saracens Head in the CBD and The Lion Hotel in North Adelaide.

Duxton’s growth comes amid heightened competition from interstate operators, who are attracted to SA’s recent gaming reforms and attractive pricing.

While an analysis of close to 250 SA pubs reveals local family groups continue to operate the lion’s share of venues across the state, interstate investors are making their mark.

In December, Australian Venue Co. (AVC) – backed by Australian businessman Bruce Dixon and US private equity giant KKR – jumped into second position on the list of SA’s largest pub operators, when it took over eight venues from the Saturno Group.

The acquisitions, which included the The Colonist, The Unley and The West End Tavern, took AVC’s local portfolio to 18 venues.

It makes AVC the largest operator behind Endeavour Group, which recently added Kilburn’s Empire Hotel and The Grand Tasman Hotel in Port Lincoln to its list of 35 venues.

Melbourne-based Black Rhino Group has been among the most active groups since the onset of Covid-19.

Since acquiring Port Adelaide’s Newmarket Hotel in April 2021, the group has swiftly added 10 more venues to its growing SA portfolio, including the Kadina Hotel and Moonta’s three pubs - the Royal Hotel, Moonta Hotel and Cornwall Hotel - which are all due to settle in the coming weeks.

David Tomsic, who runs Black Rhino with wife Deborah Mathieson-Tomsic – daughter of pub baron Bruce Mathieson – recently said the company had a 10-year plan to expand its holdings across the state.

Australian Venue Co. recently took over eight venues from the Saturno Group, including The Colonist at Norwood. Picture: Supplied by The Colonist

“I’ve had to diversify because I’ve got so big in Melbourne and I’ve always loved Adelaide,” he said.

“The entry price is very affordable and I think with all this stuff going on around Australia at the moment, I think a lot more people are going to move to Adelaide.

“For me there hasn’t been a lot of money spent on pubs in South Australia, and what I do here in Melbourne is I go to areas and I do the best I can in that area - I put the best offer in and that’s why I’ve been so successful in Melbourne.”

Mr Tomsic said recent gaming reforms were a key reason for his company’s expansion into SA.

“Since it’s gone from coins to notes, 100 per cent I’m interested,” he said.

“But I’ve gone to Adelaide on a 10-year plan – to buy over there, to buy freeholds.

“There’s a lot of great hotels in Adelaide but I like going to regions, putting $2m, $3m, $4m into a hotel, getting the menu right and keeping everything very simple.”

McGees Property hotels director Grant Clarke, who has spent more than 40 years in the industry, says interstate groups continue to circle SA for opportunities and expects them to up their stakes as the Covid-19 crisis eases.

Duxton Pubs now owns both pubs in Port Broughton, including the Port Broughton Hotel.

“The interstate buyers have been the most active in the past 15 years,” he says.

“Because of their buying power, they can easily outbid the mum and dad buyers, and I can tell you they are actively looking for other venues in South Australia.

“But in saying that, the major families are the ones who have maintained their own large portfolios – and due to them I believe we have the most upgraded and best presented pubs in the country.

“A lot of these large owners are very smart operators, and with things like the introduction of small bars there have been challenges, and they’ve had to adjust and change their venues.”

In the 1990s, Mr Clarke managed the sale of more than 100 freehold hotel properties previously owned by SA Brewing Company.

Tenants were given the first option to acquire the properties, with 89 operators, including the Hurley, Fahey, Matthews, Francis and Brien families, securing control of the bricks and mortar assets.

Peter Hurley operates nine pubs across SA, including the Arkaba Hotel. Picture: Matt Turner.

Ed and Julie Peter at the Uraidla Hotel. Picture: Tom Huntley

Mr Clarke says together with the introduction of gaming machines during the same period, the deal was a game changer for local publicans.

“The 1990s shaped the ownership structure we have today,” he says.

“People like Peter Hurley and Greg Fahey were instrumental in getting that deal up.

“It was really the backbone for these guys to upgrade their hotels and take advantage of the introduction of gaming in 1994 – it really is a great South Australian story that these pubs were able to be retained in South Australian ownership.”

Ownership data reveals the large family groups continue to operate the lion’s share of Adelaide’s suburban pubs and many in regional areas.

And they’re continuing to look for opportunities to expand their empires.

The Matthews family, like many other family operators, have their roots in country pubs. Family patriarch Seymour Matthews and wife Doris (Dossie) acquired their first pub, the Hotel Bay View in Whyalla, in 1942, before going on to operate up to 27 hotels by the 1960s.

Grandchildren Lisa, Scott and Ward Matthews now oversee Matthews Hospitality’s nine pubs including the Feathers, Maylands and Salisbury Hotel.

Lisa Matthews with her son Tom Vasileff, and brother Scott Matthews, at the Maylands Hotel. Picture: Matt Loxton

The group recently expanded into the Clare Valley with the acquisition of The Bentleys Hotel, has completed a $1m-plus refurbishment of the Mount Gambier Hotel, and will soon begin work on an upgrade of the Eyre Hotel in Whyalla.

Scott says the most successful operators are those with a deep passion for the industry.

“I think you’ve got to be thick skinned and have the ability to push the boundaries – the innovation comes from being prepared to take a risk,” he says.

“You’ve got to live it and breathe it – it’s almost a 24 hour a day job, seven days a week.

“Our father (Tony) did that with us. We’d work 90 hour weeks when we were younger – you didn’t have annual leave, you didn’t have days off – it was just out and work.”

The Matthews family is credited with offering the first counter meals in Australia in the 1960s, at the Largs Pier Hotel, as well as the first smorgasbord – at the Buckingham Arms.

In the 1950s, the concept of a drive-thru bottle shop was also born at the Largs Pier, which later pioneered the live music scene, hosting iconic bands including AC/DC and Cold Chisel.

Other family operators are also continuing to invest.

The Jones family recently boosted its portfolio to 13 venues with the acquisition of the Port Noarlunga Hotel and Challa Gardens Hotel in Croydon.

Melbourne-based Black Rhino Group has stormed into the SA pubs sector, and has agreed to purchase all three pubs in Moonta, including the Moonta Hotel.

The four biggest family operators – the Jones, Hurley, Matthews and Plush families – operate 40 pubs across suburban Adelaide and in regional areas including Mount Gambier, Port Pirie, Whyalla, Yankalilla and Roxby Downs.

New money is also making its mark in the local hotel industry, led by Ed and Julie Peter.

Since returning to Julie’s home city in 2013, the pair has led the award-winning upgrades of the Crafers and Uraidla hotels, and acquired a string of other pubs alongside partners Brett Matthews and Martin Palmer.

In 2020, Mr Peter, Mr Matthews and Mr Palmer established investment fund Duxton Pubs, acquiring The Lion Hotel in North Adelaide as its maiden investment.

The group has ambitions to become one of the country’s top three pub owners and plans to list on the Australia Securities Exchange within three years.

Smaller family groups from interstate are also looking for buying opportunities, according to long-time broker Mary Birnie from Birnie Sanders Hotel Brokers.

“We’ve always advertised our hotels interstate but we never really get interstate buyers – but now we’re getting interstate buyers too,” she says.

“At the lower end of the market people are selling their houses in Victoria and buying a little country pub here.

“South Australia has been seen as very good value for money, very good return for investment and such a stable industry.”

John Langford, who has been selling pubs in SA for more than 40 years, is confident the state’s pubs will bounce back from Covid-19.

“I really believe human beings are creatures of habit and people I speak to say they are really pleased things are getting back to normal,” he says.

“They say they want to meet with family and friends, and be looked after by the publican and their staff, and I’m certain that things will rebound.”

Originally published as Mapped and profiled: The major operators who own SA’s pubs