• Skip to content
  • Skip to navigation

Grant Thornton Australia

Grant Thornton uses cookies to monitor the performance of this website and improve user experience.

If you are happy to accept cookies from this site, please check the box.

To find out more about cookies, what they are and how we use them, please see our privacy notice, which also provides information on how to delete cookies from your hard drive.

How to be COVIDSafe when visiting Grant Thornton offices. Find out how

Global site
  • Global site
Grant Thorton Logo

Grant Thornton Logo Grant Thornton Logo

Contact us
  • Insights
  • Services
  • Industries
  • Meet our people
  • Careers
  • News centre
  • Locations
  • About us
  • Audit
  • Tax
  • Risk
  • Forensics
  • Deals
  • Finance and funding
  • Insolvency
  • Restructuring and turnaround
  • Business services
  • Consulting

  • Market services
  • Asia
  • Indigenous advisory
Audit Home
  • Compliance audits & reviews
  • Audit quality
  • Financial reporting advisory
  • Audit advisory
Tax Home
  • Corporate tax & advisory
  • Private business tax & advisory
  • Tax compliance
  • Employment tax
  • International tax
  • GST, stamp duty & indirect tax
  • Tax law
  • Research and development & government incentives
  • Data transformation and analytics
  • Corporate simplification
Risk Home
  • Payroll assurance
  • Cyber resilience
  • Internal audit
  • Financial crime
  • Consumer Data Right
  • Risk management
  • Controls assurance
  • Governance
  • Regulatory compliance
Forensics Home
  • Forensic accounting and dispute advisory
  • Investigations
  • Digital forensics
  • eDiscovery
Deals Home
  • Mergers and acquisitions
  • Acquisition search & strategy
  • Divestments
  • Operation deal services
  • Transaction advisory
  • Business valuations
  • Tax in mergers & acquisition
Finance and funding Home
  • Corporate finance
  • Debt advisory
  • Working capital optimisation
  • Capital markets
  • Capital raising
  • Private equity
  • Financial modelling
  • Payments advisory
Insolvency Home
  • Voluntary administration & DOCA
  • Corporate insolvency & liquidation
  • Complex and international insolvency
  • Safe Harbour advisory
  • Bankruptcy and personal insolvency
  • Creditor advisory services
  • Small business restructuring process
Restructuring and turnaround Home
  • Independent business reviews
  • Commercial performance
  • Safe Harbour advisory
  • Corporate simplification
  • Director advisory services
  • Debt advisory
Business services Home
  • Business planning & strategy
  • Private business company secretarial services
  • Outsourced accounting services
  • Superannuation and SMSF
  • Management reporting
  • Financial reporting
  • Forecasting & budgeting
  • ATO audit support
  • Family business consulting
  • Private business taxation and structuring
  • Outsourced CFO services
Consulting Home
  • Management consulting
  • Technology consulting
  • Financial consulting
Asia Home
  • China
  • India
  • Japan
  • Case study: Restructuring solutions
  • Agribusiness, food & beverage
  • Automotive dealers
  • Education
  • Energy & resources
  • Financial services
  • Health & aged care
  • Life sciences
  • Manufacturing
  • Not for Profit
  • Professional services
  • Public sector
  • Real estate & construction
  • Retail & consumer products
  • Technology & media
Agribusiness, food & beverage Home
Bite Size Dealtracker Food, Beverage & Agribusiness industry insights
Key insights for the Australian Food, Beverage & Agribusiness industry.
Financial services Home
  • Banking
  • Fintech
  • Private Health Insurance
  • Superannuation
  • Asset management
  • BEAR FAQs
  • Open banking
Royal Commission wrap up Top 10 things for Financial Services providers
Eleven months on from the first round of hearings for the Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry, Commissioner Hayne’s final report has been released.
Health & aged care Home
Aged Care Royal Commission Perspectives on the Future of Ageing
Transitions in ageing are not consistent and systematic as they are described by our ageing systems. Sometimes they are incremental, sometimes accidental, sometimes monumental, and they are always personal. We can create something better.
Life sciences Home
Biotechnology Industry Position survey Australia's biotechnology industry drives economic growth
The 2019 Biotechnology Industry Position survey conducted by Ausbiotech and supported by Grant Thornton has revealed that new technologies across regenerative medicine and medicinal cannabis are disrupting the industry, and Australia's global strength in clinical trials continues to drive contributions to the economic and social fabric of the country.
Manufacturing Home
mid-sized business report Manufacturing is critical to our economy – how can we support the sector?
Although the knock-on effects of the Australian automotive industry exiting our country are yet to be fully understood, the industry is evolving, and manufacturing continues to be a major employer and critical to our overall economy.
Not for Profit Home
NATIONAL OUTCOMES MEASUREMENT PROGRAM A practical framework
Royal Commissions and federal budgets are critical things for Nonprofit human service providers to be thinking about at this point in time.
Real estate & construction Home
mid-sized business report Supporting affordable housing requires planning, certainty – and tax reform
There is a lot of noise around the property sector at the moment – and it’s not all positive. Prices are down – but this shouldn’t be a surprise when some markets (namely Sydney & Melbourne) saw unprecedented hikes in recent years.
Retail & consumer products Home
GNC Group Consulting The Technology Trap: Online innovation in retail
I recently attended the NRF Retail Big Show in New York, an overwhelming smorgasbord of retail technology and new store concepts.
Technology & media Home
  • Telecommunications
Scaling-up for Growth From start-up to scale-up
Navigating the complexities of growth and maintaining previous success is a challenge for all mid-size businesses.
  • Working at Grant Thornton
  • Student opportunities
  • Experienced careers
  • Contact us
Working at Grant Thornton Home
  • Flexibility
  • Your career and development
  • Diversity and inclusion
  • In the community
  • What we offer you
Student opportunities Home
  • Graduates
  • Vacationer Program
  • The application process
  • FAQs
  • Student application tips and tricks
  • Positions available
Experienced careers Home
  • Client spotlight
  • Positions available
  1. Grant Thornton Australia | Audit, Tax and Advisory
  2. Client alerts
  3. 2016
  4. Australian Clubs

Australian clubs

16 Feb 2016
  • Australian Clubs

Clubs appear to prosper across Australian towns and cities, but operating a successful one isn’t easy.

Gone are the days when selling a cold beer to members after a round of golf was enough. Competition is fierce and developing the right strategy to attract and retain patronage is a constant challenge. With external factors outside an operator’s control, managers must focus on exploiting the business’s strengths while mitigating operational weaknesses and seizing all available opportunities. It’s not easy, but it is doable.

Profitability

The sector generates a relatively low profit margin: less than five per cent without gaming and around seven per cent with gaming. Operators can also boost profits through positively influencing patron numbers and keeping a tight rein on expenditure. Other factors within the operator’s control include:

  • the use and number of gaming machines
  • the level of debt and quantum of interest for freehold venues
  • leasing costs for leasehold venues
  • stock management, including its impact on working capital/cash
  • workforce flexibility, where wage costs are aligned with patronage through effective rostering
  • profit margins on food, with constant review of both costs and menus
  • investing in a sound business technology platform to streamline operations

Successful strategies

Converting occasional visitors into members is the heart of a successful strategy. Being willing to innovate and try new approaches is also key. Maximise your position in the market by ensuring your venue has a clear identity, core values and an atmosphere that patrons can identify with; one which also matches the local demographic, for example, family-oriented, gaming or night trading. Ensuring club facilities are maintained and holding regular club activities will also draw repeat business back.

Having a resourceful club manager who is willing to take ownership of the club’s direction and management is also important. Club board members must ensure managers are incentivised appropriately with both financial and non-financial KPIs; for example, regarding management (staff turnover), occupational health and safety measures or governance via online compliance training.

The small margins typical of clubs require a strong focus on cost control. Successful businesses develop detailed budgets to manage cashflow on a weekly basis for stock ordering, payroll, maintenance and marketing.

Clubs also require refurbishing on average every seven years. This is a significant expense and critical to driving patronage. The age of the premises will dictate the timing and cost of such capital expenditure: typically, bars and gaming areas require greater capex than dining areas.

Where a club has gaming facilities, the gaming strategy requires careful attention. It must be aligned with the club’s broader member strategy and members’ social attitudes to gaming. Consideration should also be given to the siting of the gaming area and its lay out – is it discreetly separated from other activities and out of general view? A sensible approach to capital expenditure is vital, as is ensuring any TAB, Keno or Foxtel facilities and the gaming room are regularly refurbished.

Customer service plays a huge part in repeat patronage. Successful venues have a trained and motivated workforce with a clear understanding of customer service essentials and the target market. Although this can be difficult with a largely youthful and casual workforce, strong management will be up to the challenge.

A firm business technology foundation can make a world of difference in key areas such as membership management, budgeting planning and forecasting and the nuts and bolts of paying bills, tracking different sources of income and keeping a handle on costs.

Australian clubs sector

$10.7bn revenue
2,005 establishments
61,579 people
1.3% annual growth (2015-20)

Key NSW legislation

Registered Clubs Act 1976
Liquor Act 2007
Gaming Machines Act 2001


Click here to check licenses.

Share this page
  • Share this page on Facebook LinkedIn
  • Share this page on Twitter Twitter
  • Share this page on LinkedIn LinkedIn
  • Share this page on Wechat WeChat
  • Share this page via email Email
  • Grant Thornton on Youtube
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Twitter icon
  • Facebook icon
Connectclose
  • Contact us
  • Locations
  • Meet our people
  • Subscribe
  • Staff portal
Aboutclose
  • About us
  • Careers
  • News centre
  • Client alerts
  • Grant Thornton Foundation
  • Grant Thornton Affinity
Legalclose
  • Privacy
  • Compliance and ethics
  • Disclaimer
  • Site map

© 2021 Grant Thornton Australia Limited – All rights reserved

    • EN
    • Contact us