TABCORP-TATTS MERGER CLEARS ALL HURDLES

After more than a year of debate, the combining of Tabcorp and Tatts Group has been given final approval and shareholders notified. The proposed $11bn merger between the two ASX-listed Australian gaming companies was announced mid-October 2016. The Australian Competition

DASH TO MARKET AS RAILWAY PICKS UP STEAM

The Dash family are looking to part with their Warragul stalwart, the reinvented Railway Hotel. The family has a history in pubs, previously owning Warragul’s O&H Hotel, and currently freehold of the Dava Hotel in Mount Martha. The family will

PARRAMATTA EYES CURFEW – AND 216-YEAR-OLD PUB

Parramatta Council has been discussing a proposal to restrict late-trading for much of the precinct’s licensed venues, just as pub history is honoured with the unveiling of buried treasure. Sydney’s second CBD has been experiencing phenomenal growth in the past

RANDOM ACTS OF VIOLENCE DEMONSTRATE CHANCE

A spate of unlikely violent incidents highlights the unpredictable nature of random acts by people on people, and the near-impossible ask of controlling for everything. In September, 18-year-old Brody David Marston went to the Currimundi Hotel with his brother, drinking

OXFORD HOTEL MEANS TAYLOR SQUARE HATTRICK FOR UNIVERSAL

Universal Hotels has landed a trifecta in Taylor Square with acquisition of Pelathon’s Darlinghurst icon, the Oxford Hotel. The pub on the corner of the eponymous Oxford Street and Bourke Street went through several name changes and minor geographical repositioning

NEW GROUP REINVENTING NEWMARKET HOTEL AND PUB GAME

A group of hospitality veterans is reviving and reinventing both the Newmarket Hotel and the landlord rule book, embracing insightful investment. Leisure Investment North Queenland (LINQ) Hotel Management is fronted by Richard Mraz, who arranged purchase of the freehold property

KERR LISTS THE BEAUFORT AT CLARE CASTLE

After half a decade at the helm, Dave Kerr is passing the baton on his Carlton pub, The Beaufort. Kerr took on operation of the Clare Castle Hotel over five years’ ago, and brought it into the twenty-first century in

THE FIDDLER GOES TO NEXT LEVEL WITH 78-ROOM ACCOMMODATION

Lewis Hotel Group has landed approval to take The Fiddler to another level, with plans for a four-storey 78-room accommodation wing to the big Hills district pub. The large-format The Fiddler at the intersection of Commercial and Windsor Roads Rouse

ARK GROUP OPEN BIG NEW MARKET GROUNDS PUB

ARK Group has unveiled its huge new pub Market Grounds in Perth’s Kings Square, ready to capitalise on the future potential in the Perth City Link precinct. The big Market Grounds is located on the site of the former Perth

ALH AUCTION ON BRIGHTON HOTEL FETCHES $3.7m

ALH has divested the freehold going concern of its Brighton Hotel in Mandurah, a strong auction drawing $3.7m for the former Compass pub. Australian Leisure & Hospitality (ALH) bought up the entire 12-venue portfolio of the failed Compass Group for