Australian Venue Co, the country’s second-largest pub operator, is capitalising on cost-of-living stress as more people swap restaurants for value-focused pub dining.
Over the past year, the private equity-backed group lifted its network from 243 to 255 venues across Australia and New Zealand, while earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation climbed 27% to $472 million.
Revenue rose nearly 20% to $1.63 billion, reflecting both acquisitions and stronger customer demand.
The company’s underlying performance is also solid, with management flagging 7% like-for-like revenue growth once new pub purchases are stripped out.
Around half of Australian Venue Co’s venues sit in Queensland and Victoria, giving it a heavy concentration in two of the country’s most competitive pub markets.
The group plans to keep expanding over the next two years, using a mix of new-build greenfield projects and further acquisitions to grow scale.
Investors in Endeavour Group are watching these moves closely, because Australian Venue Co is emerging as its most serious hotel rival.
Endeavour’s hotel arm runs about 350 venues, but most market attention tends to focus on its Dan Murphy’s and BWS liquor chains rather than pubs.
The stronger earnings trajectory at Australian Venue Co suggests the pub segment itself remains resilient, even as households feel pressure from rising bills.
For fund managers comparing the two models, the contrast between Endeavour’s retail-heavy mix and Australian Venue Co’s pub-focused network is becoming a central part of the investment debate.
