A third generation family butcher has closed its doors and is being wound up after more than 70 years in the meat business.
A liquidator has been appointed to wind up Jack Purcell Meats which began in 1943 in Northgate and at one stage had 23 butcher shops around Brisbane.
City Beat left a message for owner Adam Purcell which was not returned and phone calls to the meat showroom at Virginia were not answered.
Alan Walker from Asset Restructuring Group is handling the liquidation of the Snag Pty Ltd ATF the Snag Investment Trust which trades at Jack Purcell Meats.
Walker was not immediately available for comment.
The liquidation stemmed from a court petition by major energy retailer AGL Sales.
Jack Purcell was an army butcher and began is business delivering meat to customers with a horse and cart. In fact his father Dan was also a butcher and operated out of a small Currumbin store between the wars.
After WWII Purcell’s business took off and expanded through the 50s, 60s and 70s until he sold off the majority of the shops, preferring to concentrate on a smaller number of outlets.
His son Paul took over the business in 1980 and established the meat showroom at Pritchard Rd, Virginia in the 1990s.
In 2015 Paul retired and Adam took over the business.
The meat showroom was marketed as a one-stop shop and sold beef, lamb, pork, poultry, game meats, ham and delicatessen products.
Hot to trot
Lithium is hot again and some Queensland miners are moving to take advantage.
An essential component of clean energy technologies such as electric vehicles and batteries, lithium prices have moved higher on the back of supply cuts and surging demand from the energy storage sector, according to Lake Resources non executive chairman Stu Crow.
And with more than 40 years at the sharp end of the business world having owned and operated his own companies, invested other peoples and been on plenty of Boards, Brisbane-based Crow has pretty much seen it all.
This is not his first rodeo and lithium has had its ups and downs.
But at the moment the critical mineral is experiencing a significant 2026 rebound, with prices rising 8.59 per cent in the past month, driven by tightening supply, increased EV demand and potential long-term deficits lasting until 2035.
Speaking to City Beat following a recent investor roadshow, Crow (illustrated) says investors have not been this bullish on the “white gold” for some years, amid projections of a looming lithium supply shortage.
The Argentina-focused company could also benefit from a growing “bromance” between Argentinian President Javier Milei and US President Donald Trump, with the potential for priority mining projects in Argentina to gain direct US government support.
Also in the US, Venari Minerals says it is “building America’s lithium future” with its “globally significant” lithium resource.
Brisbane-based managing director, Matthew Healy says the company is well placed to benefit from the Trump administration’s moves to fast-track permitting and development of domestic critical minerals projects such as its Red Mountain project in Nevada.