Justin Hemmes, the Chief Executive Officer of the Merivale Group, is less a hotel executive and more an architect of social capital, a profile that directly contradicts the asset-light doctrines favoured by global hospitality majors. His strategy, which transformed a family fashion business into an Australian hospitality powerhouse valued at over A$1.3 billion (DMARGE, 2025), is predicated on aggressive property acquisition and total ecosystem control.
This unconventional approach centres on the high-cost, high-reward model of vertical integration, using real estate ownership as a hedge against market volatility. Hemmes’s personal philosophy rejects the typical hotelier focus on standardised service, insisting instead on cultivating unique “magic” in over 90 venues, as confirmed by Merivale’s corporate story.
His most notable project, the A$180 million Ivy precinct in Sydney, was completed in 2008 – a period of global financial stress. The Australian Financial Review reported that the development was financed with substantial collateral, including the Hemmes family’s historic Vaucluse mansion, underscoring the high-stakes, gut-driven nature of his decision-making.
Gut Instinct and Asset Density
Hemmes frequently attributes his acquisition strategy not to rigid financial modelling, but to instinct, seeking sites with a “bit of magic,” a quote cited by Hospitality Magazine. This approach enables him to see high-density, multi-venue potential where others see only distressed or antiquated property.
The family has spent over A$900 million on property acquisition since Merivale shifted its focus from fashion to hospitality, according to The Australian Financial Review (2023). This investment has established Merivale as a dominant, long-term player whose assets are protected from the volatility that plagues leasehold operators.
His strategic move to purchase and transform landmark pubs, such as the A$46 million acquisition of the Newport Arms in 2015 (Commercial Real Estate), demonstrated a commitment to regional gentrification. This ‘Hemmes Effect’ involves creating self-contained destination hubs that draw tourism and spending far beyond the immediate local area.
This real-estate-first mentality extends to counter-intuitive purchases, such as a concrete car park in Melbourne’s CBD for an estimated A$60 million (https://www.google.com/search?q=Realestate.com.au, 2025). Hemmes stated the site’s structural restrictions played into his vision for an adaptive re-use project, turning a concrete structure into an “iconic destination,” showcasing his ability to repurpose assets.
Re-engineering The Post-Pandemic Economy
Hemmes’s contrarian outlook has been most visible in his response to market contraction. He described himself as the “ultimate optimist” during the 2008 Global Financial Crisis, telling his senior staff that the period offered a rare opportunity to recruit the best talent, a perspective shared with Bars and Cocktails.
This optimism was repeated post-pandemic, where he invested heavily, spending over A$120 million on six venues in just two months in 2021, including the A$43 million Tomasetti House in Melbourne (Real Commercial). Hemmes saw the period as a “massive reset button,” creating a new, week-round ‘night-time economy’ rather than the traditional Friday-Saturday model (Bars and Cocktails, 2023).
Financially, this strategy yielded a significant recovery; while the company is private, IBISWorld reported Merivale’s total revenue at A$611.018 million in 2023. However, this high-growth model has been shadowed by human capital controversies.
Merivale agreed to a class action settlement of A$19.25 million in late 2024 with former employees who alleged underpayment, according to The Guardian. Though the company vigorously denied any liability, the settlement underscores the acute operational challenge of maintaining compliance and a positive workplace culture in a rapidly expanding, high-volume empire.
Prioritising Personality Over Pedigree
Hemmes has consistently disrupted traditional hospitality HR by emphasising that staff personality is paramount to the entire Merivale experience. “You can teach anyone to make a drink, but you can’t teach people to have a fantastic personality,” he asserted to Australian Bartender.
He sees the physical environment as secondary; a room with “black walls and no windows” can succeed if the staff are engaging, reflecting his unconventional belief that service energy trumps costly fixtures. This focus on staff experience has become a key recruitment and retention tool.
This leadership style has extended the company’s influence beyond the urban core into coastal and regional markets. Acquisitions in Byron Bay and Narooma, which Hemmes calls his “second home” (AusFinance Mortgage Brokers), have transformed local markets and boosted tourist dollars.
His personal lifestyle—often described in the media as that of a “hedonistic bar tycoon” (DMARGE)—has been cleverly integrated, rather than hidden. This high-profile persona adds a layer of aspirational glamour to the venues, making the brand synonymous with Sydney’s high-end social scene.
The Challenge of Sustained Differentiation
Hemmes’s conviction that Merivale’s primary competitor is Merivale itself drives the perpetual evolution of his portfolio, as he told Australian Bartender. The current trajectory is one of intense focus on regional expansion and the development of major city precincts, such as the proposed 24/7 entertainment hub in Sydney’s CBD (Inspirepreneur Magazine, 2024).
This ambition, however, faces a delicate equilibrium. As the group’s scale increases—reportedly managing over 90 venues—the challenge is to maintain the distinct, localised ‘magic’ in each location that Hemmes credits for the brand’s success. Dilution of concept remains the greatest threat to a model built entirely on exceptional, non-standardised experience.
