From 1911 to 1913, a series of mergers resulted in the formation of The Combine, a powerful alliance between exhibitor Union Theatres and the production and distribution company Australasian Films.

[15] Two years later, the company was renamed to British Empire Films (BEF), which served as the distribution arm of Greater Union.

[16][17][18] In 1932, the box-office hit On Our Selection was produced by Cinesound Productions, a subsidiary which had been set up the previous year by Greater Union Theatres.

In 1936, businessman Norman Rydge was elected chairman and managing director of Greater Union Theatres after buying a controlling interest.

[10][11] In 2004, Amalgamated Holdings Ltd (AHL) suffered a share plunge after writing off more than $70 million on its German cinemas.

[24] In 2005, Greater Union dropped its ban against cinemagoers bringing their own snacks and drinks after an investigation by the New South Wales Commissioner for Fair Trading.

[25] [26] The same year, the Rydge family expanded its compound on Point Piper by buying a sixth adjoining property.

[27] In 2009, Meredith Hellicar resigned from the company board after being criticised in a judgement by the New South Wales Supreme Court for her part in approving, while chairwoman of James Hardie, a press release which falsely claimed that a trust for asbestosis victims had been fully funded.

[32] In the financial year 2010–2011, Alan Rydge was among the wealthy Australians who donated to a secret fund set up for Sydney politician Malcolm Turnbull.

[7] The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in mandatory government-ordered closures of cinema locations between March 2020 to July 2020 in Australia and New Zealand.

The Australian government also converted many Rydges hotel locations to mandatory quarantine stations for international and domestic travellers.

[citation needed] In 2021, EVT acquired the Jucy Snooze brand, a budget accommodation provider in New Zealand.