Michael Dixon, director of corporate development, has confirmed speculation Dixon Hospitality would acquire the group of Beer DeLuxe venues.
"We are delighted at the prospect of Beer DeLuxe joining the Dixon stable. It is a very successful brand and we intend to continue the commitment of great service and an outstanding range of beer. Given our corporate strength and resources we are able to continue building the brand and investing in the concept," said Dixon.
"We have worked closely with Beer DeLuxe founders Craig and Jason in recent months to ensure the brand would be able to continue in its current format and also to expand under Dixon ownership. The fact that both Craig and Jason will continue to be involved in the business, assisting us to roll out new Beer DeLuxe venues true to the Beer DeLuxe vision, is great.”
Craig Shearer, co-founder of Beer Deluxe said "Beer DeLuxe has grown quickly and we have had aggressive expansion plans that will benefit greatly from the resources of Dixon Hospitality, and we are extremely excited to assist with bringing the vision to life. This great brand can now join a group with the resources and capital to continue our vision of growth.
“We’ve been working fairly hard on our expansion programme and the offer from the Dixon group came out of the blue. We’re certainly staying on indefinitely to assist with the further expansion of Beer Deluxe.”
A new site in Brisbane will join existing venues in Melbourne, Sydney and Wagga Wagga. “We’re still waiting on some final approvals, but our aim is to have Brisbane open in 2016,” Shearer said.
It is expected the acquisition will be completed by the end of September 2016.
Earlier this year, Dixon Hospitality also purchased the Drink ‘n’ Dine group, which included Sydney venues The Oxford Tavern, The Forresters and The Norfolk.