St Kilda RSL

What St Kilda RSL does

St Kilda RSL Army & Navy Club (legal entity) is a heritage community club founded in 1920 in St Kilda, Victoria, Australia, operating from a four-story memorial building at 88 Acland Street. The club serves returned and ex-service personnel of the Australian Defence Force, their families and dependants, and members of the general public aged 18 and over, with a current membership base of 500+ (as of 2018). Its core offerings span multiple distinct venues: the Heroes Lounge & Whisky Bar (first-floor with 40+ whiskies and panoramic views), the Acland Street Sports Bar & Lounge (TAB/Keno, live sport), the Albert Jacka Members Bar (members-only), MEMO Music Hall (live performance, theatre, filming, recording, operated in partnership with Memo Music), a Private Function Room (capacity 140), and the Thomas Unsworth Meeting Room (capacity 12, boardroom-style with video conferencing).

The business operates standard hospitality and venue management infrastructure with no proprietary technology platforms. It runs a three-tier membership programme (Service, Affiliate, Social) at $25 per year or $50 for three years, with reciprocal rights across all Victorian RSLs. Revenue is generated through six streams: membership fees, bar and hospitality sales, gaming (TAB/Keno and the weekly Jackpot Joker Draw starting at $200), function and meeting room hire, MEMO Music Hall events, and welfare support services delivered through the RSL Victorian network. Distribution is exclusively venue-based at the single St Kilda site, with no e-commerce or digital product channels. The club is governed by elected officials and operates without external investors, parent company, or private equity ownership.

Name

St Kilda RSL

Legal name

St Kilda RSL Army & Navy Club

Website

https://skanc.com.au

Company type

Private

Founded year

1920

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

St Kilda RSL is a heritage Australian community club (est. 1920) operating bars, a live music venue, gaming facilities, and function rooms from a single Acland Street site, serving 500+ members including veterans, their families, and the general public aged 18+.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Club Hospitality Services

NAICS

Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages) (722410)

SIC

Retail-Eating & Drinking Places (5810), Services-Membership Sports & Recreation Clubs (7997)

akta.pro primary industry

Neighborhood Bars & Taverns (CRANACAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Alcohol Subscription Clubs & Membership Retail (CRANAAAI)

Keywords

• Veteran welfare services
• Community club hospitality
• Live music venue
• Function room hire
• RSL membership programs

Headquarters

HQ city

St Kilda, Victoria

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership fees: Annual and triennial membership fees provide recurring revenue and gate access to member-exclusive facilities (Albert Jacka Members Bar, Jackpot Joker Draw, weekly raffles, Happy Hours, RSL Rewards points).
2. Bar and hospitality sales: Revenue generated from on-premise food and beverage sales across Heroes Lounge Whisky Bar, Acland Street Sports Bar, and Albert Jacka Members Bar. Includes over 40 whisky varieties, rotating craft beers, wines, and spirits, plus bar snacks (gourmet pizzas, pies, chicken tenders, seafood baskets).
3. Gaming and gambling: The club operates TAB and Keno facilities and conducts the Jackpot Joker Draw (weekly members-only draw starting at $200, increasing by $50 each week). RSL Reward points system incentivises spending.
4. Function room and meeting room hire: Private function room hire (up to 140 people) and Thomas Unsworth meeting room hire (up to 12 people) generate venue hire revenue. The function room is available at nominal fees for not-for-profit organisations and reasonable rates to the wider community, including AV equipment. The meeting room includes video conferencing facilities and 55-inch TV.
5. MEMO Music Hall events and hire: MEMO Music Hall operates as a live music, theatre, filming, and recording venue with a diverse entertainment program. Revenue is generated through event tickets, venue hire for recording/rehearsal, and partnerships with performers.
6. Welfare and support services (RSL Victorian network): The club provides welfare support services for veterans and their families, connecting members with RSL Victorian Welfare resources including compensation and support programs. Services are provided within the broader RSL network.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

St Kilda RSL operates a heritage-listed community club venue housing multiple distinct hospitality offerings: the Heroes Lounge & Whisky Bar, Acland Street Sports Bar & Lounge (TAB/Keno), the Albert Jacka Members Bar, and the MEMO Music Hall live performance venue. The club also rents a private function room (up to 140 guests) and the Thomas Unsworth meeting room, sells RSL membership across three tiers, runs the weekly Jackpot Joker Draw, supports a Lawn Bowls Section, and provides welfare referral services for veterans and their families.

Product overview

St Kilda RSL operates as a community club venue offering a portfolio of hospitality and entertainment services. The core offering consists of multiple distinct venues: the Heroes Lounge & Whisky Bar (first-floor lounge with panoramic views and whisky selection), the Acland Street Sports Bar & Lounge (TAB/Keno facilities with live sport and casual dining), the Albert Jacka Members Bar (members-only bar), and the MEMO Music Hall (historic live music and performance venue). Additional offerings include a Private Function Room for events (up to 140 people), the Thomas Unsworth Room (boardroom/meeting space), membership programs (Service, Affiliate, and Social categories with benefits including reciprocal RSL rights), weekly Jackpot Joker Draw promotions, lawn bowls sports activities, and welfare support services for veterans and their families. The venues operate seven days a week with varying hours and are open to both members and the public.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• MEMO Music Hall: An iconic St Kilda performance venue offering live music, theatre, filming and music ranging from classical recitals to rock 'n' roll. Operated in partnership between the RSL and Memo Music. Entry via Albert Street.

Products and services

• Heroes Lounge & Whisky Bar First-floor lounge with views of Luna Park and St Kilda skyline offering 40+ local and international whiskies, wines, rotating craft taps, pool table ($2 per game), and a monthly Ruby Carter Jazz Lounge. Open to the public seven days a week.
• Acland Street Sports Bar & Lounge

Named customers2 records

Segments4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Memo Music HallcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMEMO Music Hall is operated in a partnership between St Kilda RSL and Memo Music. Located behind the RSL (entry via Albert Street), the grand hall serves as an iconic St Kilda performance venue with Australian and international acts weekly. It offers live music, theatre, filming, and recording/rehearsal space. The partnership leverages the heritage venue's superior acoustics for diverse entertainment programming.
• Middle Park Bowls ClubcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSt Kilda RSL Lawn Bowls Section partners with Middle Park Bowls Club for practice sessions and local tournaments. This enables the RSL to offer lawn bowls to its members without maintaining its own greens, providing a low-cost community sport expansion.
• St Kilda City Football Netball ClubcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerSt Kilda RSL is a major sponsor of the St Kilda City Football Netball Club (est. 1946, based at Peanut Farm Reserve). The sponsorship champions health, wellbeing, and social inclusion. The club has been at the heart of St Kilda since 1946 and fields football and netball teams for men, women, juniors, and families.
• RSL Victorian WelfarecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe St Kilda RSL Welfare team connects veterans and their families with RSL Victorian Welfare services including compensation and support programs. The club is committed to the welfare of current serving and ex-serving veterans and operates within the RSL Victoria network.
• Ruby Carter Jazz LoungeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Heroes Lounge transforms into the Ruby Carter Jazz Lounge once a month, operated in conjunction with the Memo Music Hall. Named after the Jazz Matriarch who played regularly in the lounge in the 1990s, this partnership enriches the entertainment offering with regular jazz programming.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Regional players

• Palais Theatre: Heritage St Kilda live performance venue with a similar heritage positioning and entertainment focus. Comparable as a St Kilda-based live entertainment venue, though at a much larger concert scale.
• The Corner Hotel: Well-known Melbourne live music pub in Richmond with regular Australian and international acts. Relevant peer for benchmarking the live music and bar/entertainment programming that underpins MEMO Music Hall.
• Hotel Esplanade: Iconic St Kilda venue on the same broader entertainment strip, operating a pub, live music, and event hire. Direct geographic competitor for St Kilda foot traffic and entertainment spend.

Direct peers

• Brunswick RSL: Inner-northern Melbourne RSL sub-branch operating as a community membership club with bars, gaming, function rooms, and live entertainment. The most directly comparable metropolitan RSL with the same membership tiers, welfare mission, and revenue mix.
• Caulfield RSL: Inner-southern Melbourne RSL with a comparable membership-driven community club model: bars, dining, gaming, and community event hosting. Strongly comparable in geography and operating model.
• Heidelberg RSL: Northern suburbs RSL with bars, gaming, function rooms, and community engagement programs. Comparable as a metropolitan RSL relying on the same Victorian RSL reciprocal membership network.
• Sandringham RSL: Bayside Melbourne RSL with a similar portfolio of bars, bistro, function hire, TAB/Keno, and live entertainment. Closely comparable in scale, suburban/metro positioning, and revenue mix.
• Elsternwick Club: Community club in inner-southern Melbourne offering bars, dining, gaming, and event hosting on a similar operational scale. Comparable as a non-RSL community club competing for the same St Kilda-adjacent customer base.
• Box Hill RSL: Eastern suburbs Melbourne RSL operating a comparable mix of membership, hospitality, gaming, and community services. Useful comparable for benchmarking venue programming and membership economics.

Broad incumbents

• Melbourne Cricket Club: Premier Melbourne private member club with extensive hospitality, function, and event operations. Comparable as a high-end community member club demonstrating the scale and brand equity that mature Melbourne clubs can achieve over a long heritage horizon.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/RSLonAcland
• Instagraminstagram.com/stkildarsl
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/st-kilda-rsl

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about St Kilda RSL