The owner of the Prince Bandroom, part of the Prince of Wales complex, has announced that he’s departing The Melbourne Pub Group after spending nearly $5 million on committing to hosting live music at the prominent St Kilda venue.
According to The Age, The Melbourne Pub Group’s Julian Gerner made a shock announcement that he’d be leaving the gastro pub hoteliers who originally purchased the Prince Bandroom from John van Haandel in 2011, triggering a controversial period of transition as local residents and live music lovers were concerned the group would give the venue a suburbanite makeover.
Fears were later evaporated when Mr Gerner expressed his commitment to live music at the site, renovating the band room and put the focus back on hosting live music, with a new band booker taking over in recent months in From The Apple Tree’s Shaun Adams (Ballrat’s Karova Lounge band booker and manager of Yacht Club DJs and Twinsy).
Now, Mr Gerner has walked from his role as Operations and Marketing Manager of Melbourne Pub Group, and from business partner Tom Walker, who together own the Albert Park, Middle Park, and Newmarket hotels along with the St Kilda live music venue.
The company was bankrolled by business financier and racehorse owner Gerry Ryan, who helped them acquire their string of refurbished venues, with chef Paul Wilson as director, but the company has faced struggles in the last year, allegedly accruing more than $10 million in debt, with trade at the Prince of Wales in particular contributing to ailing finances.
Additionally, The Age reports there are claims of growing dissent amongst company ranks over Mr Gerner’s “rock n roll lifestyle,” reaching crisis point over the Christmas period.“I’ve been the frontman, I’ve been the promoter, I’ve been the marketer and the driver of all the businesses to date, but these days… the margins are very slim.” – Julian Gerner, Melbourne Pub Group
Mr Gerner insists however, that his decision to split from the Melbourne Pub Group was his own. “I would like to say that it was an amicable negotiation between partners, which was completely agreed upon by all parties and proposed by me,” he explained, citing a lack of motivation in running the company’s vast empire in the face of a tough economic climate.
“I’ve been the frontman, I’ve been the promoter, I’ve been the marketer and the driver of all the businesses to date, but these days you have to micromanage hospitality and the margins are very slim,” lamented Mr Gerner. “I don’t have the energy to work 100 hours a week under the scrutiny and pressure of others.”
“I don’t think it’s any secret that the group has spent a lot of money on a lot of things over a lot of time – but I don’t want to talk numbers,” Mr Gerner said of the alleged debts nearing $10 million, including the failure to launch the Cellar Bar.
The upmarket burlesque bar and lounge, with a Latin dining area, was located under the acquired Newmarket Hotel, costing about a reported $1.5 million in refurbishment, but was shut down just four months after opening.
“The first model didn’t work, there’s no secret about that. We tried to do something different and the market didn’t want it. I don’t think there’s any animosity around that part of the business. I’ve had about 13 hits and one miss,” said Mr Gerner, who will remain as a shareholder and equity partner in the Melbourne Pub Group as he focuses on other hospitality interests.
Tom Walker says there was no controversy surrounding his business partner’s decision to resign, saying that while the company had received a financial injection from Gerry Ryan, it was not the rumoured figure of $1 million and that turnover at the Prince of Wales had increased in the last twelve months since undergoing its re-commitment to live music.
Mr Walker called it a “consolidation phase” following a period of rapid growth; “all businesses are going through transformation phases at the moment – welcome to business in 2013,” he added.
