After leaving the top role at CUB in early 2022, Peter Filipovic has pursued several partnerships with leading industry figures within pubs and other drinks ventures. He spoke to Australian Hotelier about his move into pub investment.
Since leaving CUB in 2022, Peter Filipovic has partnered with several publicans to purchase pub assets, mainly in Melbourne. It was always something he was keen on, but was unable to do while he was at CUB.
He was with the beverage behemoth for 25 years, in the CEO for the last four years of his tenure.
“I worked at CUB under three different international companies, being SABMiller, ABInBev and Asahi, and all of them were great experiences. But it was time for a change, and a new challenge. I’d always been interested in investing in pubs. I couldn’t do it while I was at CUB due to the conflict of interest.”
But once leaving the brewery, Filipovic was free to pursue his pub aspirations. First, he linked up with Richie Ludbrook and Dave Sharry, buying the Riverland Bar and Beer Garden at Federation Wharf. From there, the Riverland Group has grown to include Hotel Railway in Brunswick, and The Boatbuilders Yard and The General Assembly, both in South Wharf.
He also has partnered with industry veteran Patrick Ryan on a few pub investments, last year selling the Commercial Hotel in Redbank, Brisbane to Redcape.
Back in Melbourne, he’s also partnered with brothers Dave and Merv Shannon to establish the Royal Saxon Group – named after their first joint buy, the Royal Saxon Hotel in Richmond. Filipovic knew the Shannon brothers well from his time at CUB, when they operated the Village Belle Hotel in St Kilda. They shared a passion for golfing and Hawthorn Football Club, and the friendship has turned into a business partnership.
The Royal Saxon Group now operates the Richmond pub, as well as Brighton restaurant Sons of Mary and Hampton venue Brown Cow. Their latest acquisition is the Bells Hotel in South Melbourne, announced two weeks ago.
“It’s an iconic pub in South Melbourne. The CUB building was in Southbank for many years and we used to frequent the Bells Hotel quite often,” stated Filipovic.
“When the opportunity came up to buy it, we ran the numbers and it was a good buy with a lot of opportunity to grow in the future.”
Since leaving CUB, following different pub projects with various partners has been Filipovic’s modus operandi, allowing him to bring his own insights from a career leading beverage supply in Australia, without having to jump into the operations of venues full time.
“After CUB, my objective was not to work as hard or work full time as before, so being a kind of passive investor in the pubs, and to also invest in a few other companies was the plan.
“The idea is that I’m partnering with guys that have been in hospitality for 25 years. What I try to do is add strategic value around buying, selling and renovating to try to improve the offer, so that we end up getting better value for these assets.”
Synergistic opportunities
While focused on pub investments, Filipovic has used his drinks nous to pursue opportunities outside of hospitality venues as they arise.
Last year, the entrepreneur led a syndicate of publicans representing 17 different pub groups in acquiring Mismatch Brewing Company and The Hills Distillery – including IP, branding inventory, plant and equipment and licenses – off Mighty Craft for $7.2m.
While it was an opportunity to buy distressed assets, Filipovic said the value was in helping secure product for pubs at an affordable price point.
“We acquired that to help with rising costs in pubs – to have one of our own beers on tap, rather than buying another craft beer at a higher rate, and have some fun growing at the same time.”
Peter Filipovic
The syndicate of publicans that acquired the group represent more than 300 pubs across the country, meaning that brands like Mismatch Brewing, 78 Degrees, Jetty Road Brewing and Hills Cider have an in-built customer base.
“It’s a fantastic group that bought those brands and support the brands.”
Off the back of that acquisition, a procurement group was also created called All Pour.
“Basically, we buy food services together, which gives us all buying power, and encourages other publicans who are like minded to do the same thing.”
With pubs at the centre of all his current business pursuits, Filipovic says they’re the type of venue he’s always been drawn to.
“It’s a channel I’ve spent a lot of time in! A lot of my good friends were pub owners, so I got to understand how they make money and how they work with money and how they work. So I have an interest, but I also love how pubs operate in their communities.”
Filipovic is currently focused on renovating the pubs within the Royal Saxon Group, with the Royal Saxon Hotel having just undergone a renovation which launched this week. Next on the cards is the Bells Hotel, which will undergo a renovation next year.