One of Australia’s longest family-owned pubs sells for $12m

Known for its good ol’ fashioned Aussie hospitality, the Maguire family has been serving cold beer and plenty of cheer at The Australian Hotel for the past 131 years.

But as publican Kim Maguire is first to admit, all good things must eventually come to an end, with her family ready to hand over the keys to the historic McGraths Hills property in western Sydney to hotelier Warren Livingstone next month.

The founder of sports tourism group Fanatics purchased the property for around $12 million with the sale helping beef up his growing Highclere Hospitality portfolio.

The hotel has sold for around $12 million. Picture: Supplied by JLL

He already owns Hyde Park House in Darlinghurst, the Captain Cook Hotel in Botany, Charing Cross Hotel in Bronte and the Rose & Crown Hotel in Parramatta, which Mr Livingtone purchased for $42 million in March this year, according to The Australian Financial Review.

“The pub is perfectly situated in a growing region which has always piqued my interest,” he said.

“We look forward to getting our hands on the operation and working with the community to provide a new and exciting hospitality offering for greater western Sydney.”

End of an era

Mrs Maguire, who took over the running of the pub with husband Michael almost 40 years ago, said The Australian Hotel first opened its doors in 1891.

Locals gather outside the Australian Hotel in the early 1900s. Picture: Supplied by Kim Maguire.

Since then, six generations of Maguires have owned and operated the hotel, making it one of Australia’s longest family-run pubs.

“It’s a bittersweet sale and you could say, it’s the end of an era for our family,” she said.

“But it’s time for someone new to come in as I’m 62 now and still doing well over 100 hours a week. I’m tired.

“I also lost my husband four years ago, he was sixth generation, and his death made me realise that I don’t want to miss out on time with my family, with my grandkids who seem to think that I live here.

“That said, I’ve already told Warren that I’ll be coming in from time to time to catch up with customers … many of which, over the years, have become like extended family.”

The Australian Hotel at McGraths Hills was adjoined by a butcher shop. Picture: Supplied by Kim Maguire.

According to Hawkesbury Library, the pub was one of the first hotels to service residents in the area, alongside the Killarney Inn and the Royal Oak.

In its heyday, the pub was also adjoined by a butcher shop on the corner of Pitt Town Road and Bridge Road.

However, the shop was later demolished to make room for a major extension of the hotel.

Indeed, the original site of the pub now houses the hotel’s poker machines.

“The outside of the pub is all heritage listed…and I’ve been told that the sandstone bricks out the front are exclusive to us; they came from the slaughterhouse paddock down the road,” Mrs Maguire said.

“So there’s a fair bit of history here. Imagine if walls could talk.”

Pub sales booming

JLL Hotels & Hospitality Group vice president Kate MacDonald said an increasing number of long-term publicans were seeking tree and sea changes on the back of COVID-19.

This, she said, had led to a strong market turnover with 2022 having recorded a number of historic sales.

Glenquarie Tavern in Macquarie Fields this month sold for $28 million, while one of Sydney’s longest-owned hotels, The Pendle Inn, sold in April for an undisclosed price.

The Amble Inn in Corindi Beach also sold in May for $12 million, while the Shaws Bay Hotel and Fenwick House settled for around $31 million.

“Often, these investors are looking to buy from long-term owners because there’s a real ability to make a difference in the community and to bring a different type of hospitality venue to the area,” Ms MacDonald said.

“Buyers are seeing upsides when it comes to the hotel game, as is the case for The Australian Hotel which is located in the greater western Sydney growth corridor.

“So this is a transaction I am particularly proud of as it has assisted a genuine, hard-working owner/operator, to divest her asset at a time in the market capable of delivering a life-changing outcome not only for herself, but for her children, and her children’s children.”