At last, someone has published a complete list of the pubs that Lion Nathan have bought in Victoria for what they claim was only $65 million.

CUB have made amazing inroads into the Perth market over the years. Cast your mind back to 1986 and Bondy then had more than 90 per cent of the market but this is now back down towards 50 per cent and falling fairly rapidly.

It would be fair to say that CUB probably paid several million to Subiaco for the pourage rights when you consider that they paid almost $20 million for the exclusive pourage rights at Docklands Stadium in Melbourne last year. It was this move and the new pourage rights deal at the MCG that saw CUB deliver a very disappointing second half profit in August last year. All eyes are focused on the upcoming first half profit for Foster’s in February.

Ironically, that $20 million CUB paid Colonial went straight to Ron Evans and the boys at Spotless to terminate their venue management contract. Colonial lost $25 million last year and is in about as much strife as Stadium Australian since ANZ pulled out of its $50 million naming rights deal. Who’d want to be in the business of owning stadia? It’s a dog.

Similarly, stories abound of how bad the Lion Nathan strategy of buying up 45 trendy Victorian pubs is going. They’ve paid a motza for all the pubs around Melbourne Uni so it is now a VB free zone. Many students are walking that bit further to get the cherished green label icon. We understand that one of the pubs around Melbourne Uni have a sneaky unmarked VB tap out the back for die-hard customers who refuse to drink anything else.

And can you believe Lion Nathan bought Melbourne’s most famous night club, The Metro in Bourke St, and built an almighty bar in the middle of the stage so that they can no longer have any major bands play there. It’s madness.

At first Lion Nathan said they paid about $45 million for the pubs but now the publicly stated figure is up to $65 million. If you know the individual prices paid for some of these pubs then send them through and we’ll try to add it all up.

For instance, we’re told by a neighbour of the Metro that the famous Bourke St night club changed hands for $9.5 million – the biggest price paid for a single venue. And another theory is that Lion Nathan’s Japanese parent Kirin is a 50-50 joint venture partner with its 45 per cent subsidiary, thereby reducing the direct spend by Lion Nathan.

Crikey does not break too many genuine news stories but the Lion Nathan move on Victoria’s pubs was one such example last February. For some reason, no-one has ever produced a full list of the pubs they bought so here it is. If you have a story about the ownership change from the one of these pubs we’d love to hear from you.

The 45 pubs Lion Nathan have bought

21 Arms Hotel, Ballarat

Albert Park Hotel, Albert Park

Builders Arms Hotel, Fitzroy

Byblos Caf Bar (formerly Station Bar), Prahran

Canada Hotel, Carlton

Casey’s Nite Spot, Hawthorn

Cherry Tree Hotel, Richmond

Clarendon (formerly Intrepid Fox), Sth Melbourne

Clude Hotel, Carlton

Court House Hotel, Bendigo

Darby Ogills, Bendigo

Dogs Bar (Hotel Columbo), St Kilda

Eclipse Nightclub (Royal Mail Hotel), Bendigo

Felix Bar, St Kilda

Geebung Polo Club, Hawthorn

Geebung Polo Club, Flemington

Geelong Hotel, Geelong

Golden Gate Hotel, Sth Melbourne

Governor Hotham Hotel, Hawthorn

Grace Darling Hotel, Collingwood

Hogs Breath Caf, Ballarat

Imperial Hotel, Sth Yarra

Limerick Arms Hotel, Sth Melbourne

Melbourne Depot, Richmond

Metro Nightclub, Bourke St City

Molly Blooms, Port Melbourne

Naughtons Hotel, Parkville

Perseverance Hotel, Fitzroy

Preston Hotel, Geelong

Prince Alfred Hotel, Carlton

Provincial Hotel, Fitzroy

Queensberry Hotel, Carlton

Rattle n Hum, Ballarat

Red Eagle, Albert Park

Richmond Club Hotel, Richmond

Rob Roy Hotel, Fitzroy

Sante Fe Hotel, Melbourne

Star Bar, Bendigo

Studio 54, Bendigo

The London Bar Caf, Port Melbourne

The Match Bar and Bakehouse, Bendigo

The Max Hotel, Geelong

Tonic Lounge Bar, Bendigo

Veludo Bar Restaurant, St Kilda