Good Drinks buys Queensland pub for Matso’s brewery

Matso’s will have a second home on the Sunshine Coast, after Good Drinks Australia announced it had acquired a Queensland venue for $5.3 million.

Good Drinks Australia, the owner of the Matso’s brand, told the ASX today it had purchased a venue called Joe’s Waterhole in Eumundi Queensland which would be redeveloped into a Matso’s brewery.

It said the agreement covered the purchase of both the business and the property and would be debt-funded through the group’s $12.5 million venue finance facility.

The second venue will complement the original Matso’s brewery in Broome.

Good Drinks said it was aiming to sell an additional two million litres per year of Matso’s drinks into the broader Queensland market.

Good Drinks Australia chief operating officer Aaron Heary said Matso’s was a brand which resonated strongly across the country, especially in Queensland.

“Both Matso’s Broome and Eumundi are heritage listed sites and full of character, providing a link that truly speaks to the Matso’s brand,” Mr Heary said.

“The redevelopment will include a facelift and installation of a fully functioning brewery that can produce the entire suites of products that Matso’s has become famous for.

“The existing traditional front bar will be retained and feature prominently in our new Queensland venue.”

The acquisition is line with Good Drinks’ venue strategy.

The ASX-listed beverage company is aiming to create five breweries in key markets.

It opened the Atomic Beer Project in Sydney in September last year and is planning to open a Gage Roads Brewing Co venue in Fremantle for summer.

Shares in Good Drinks Australia were up 1.1 per cent today to 9.5 cents each.