Matthews Hospitality has announced purchase of ALH’s Salisbury Hotel, as it invests more than $13 million into its South Australian communities.
Matthews Hospitality is one of South Australia’s largest family-owned hotel groups, the Salisbury joining Feathers, Maylands, Buckingham Arms, Eyre, Mount Gambier, Park and South Eastern Hotels, as well as Colhurst House B&B.
The Salisbury has been part of the South Australian collection of Australian Leisure & Hospitality (ALH), and one of Adelaide’s prominent gaming venues, with 40 machines. It saw a $2 million refurb in recent years.
The sale furthers the family’s business into the city’s northern suburbs.
“We currently have a strong presence in the eastern suburbs and regional South Australia and we now look forward to bringing our customer-first hospitality approach to the Salisbury community,” says CEO Andrew Kemp.
“We want to maintain everything that customers enjoy about the Salisbury Hotel, while enhancing its offering through an expanded bistro layout and food offering.”
Acquisition of the Salisbury coincides with extensive plans for the group, including renovation and complete internal refurbishment of the Maylands Hotel, due for completion by the end of June.
At the Mount Gambier Hotel, plans are underway for accommodation upgrades and the creation of local tours and overnight tourism packages. For this Matthews received part funding to the tune of $336k, through the Tourism Development Industry Fund grants.
The group says it strives “to be part of the communities” it serves, and hopes to encourage greater tourism to the world-class experiences and produce of the Mount Gambier Limestone Coast region.
“We also champion South Australian businesses through our ‘homegrown heroes’ approach, sourcing produce and services from local suppliers,” adds Kemp.
“The resurgence of intra-state travel as a result of Covid-19 has resulted in strong patronage at our regional hotels and we are pleased to create new tourism experiences in the south-east.”
The investment continues to new technologies across its venues, including the attraction and retention of staff, which now number around 350 people across the portfolio.
Matthews Hospitality was established during World War II by Seymour and Doris (Dossie) Matthews, and has survived to own, operate and sometimes sell some 36 hotel licences and freeholds.
The new multi-million-dollar investment demonstrates a “vote of confidence” by the Matthews family in South Australian communities, and follows its succession plan announced mid-2020 and transition to wholly-owned by third generation siblings Lisa, Scott and Ward Matthews.
