Geoff Dixon to sell Blues Point Hotel as pub market takes off

Former Qantas boss Geoff Dixon has listed his historic 1864-built Blue’s Point Hotel in North Sydney for sale. Picture: John Appleyard

Former Qantas chief executive Geoff Dixon has listed his historic 1864-built Blue’s Point Hotel in North Sydney for sale, with sources saying similar pubs have fetched about $10m.

The high-profile businessman, who was also chairman of the federal government’s main tourism arm Tourism Australia, paid more than $6m for the hotel in 2014 and has since renovated it.

Selling agent HTL’s Andrew Jolliffe said the timeless Blue’s Point Hotel had been a North Shore fixture for more than 160 years and was one of the first pubs to be built in the area.

Mr Dixon said: “It has been a popular drinking place even prior to the opening of the Harbour Bridge, being there from the early 1860s when the road led to the Sydney Harbour ferry crossing.”

“We’ve thoroughly enjoyed our ownership of the Blue’s Point Hotel over the past decade, and have had numerous approaches from people interested in buying the pub; so we’ve decided the time is right to bring it to market formally.”

Mr Dixon bought the first hotel for the Dixon family’s G & D Dixon Investments in 2012 – a historic pub in Camden, 65km southwest of Sydney.

The two-level hotel occupies a commanding corner presence on Blue’s Point Rd.

“The Blue’s Point Hotel is simply one of those pubs that everyone has a story or recollection about, and quite frankly pubs like it are irreplaceable,” said selling agent HTL Property managing director, Andrew Jolliffe, said.

Set across 580sq m, the hotel business provides food, beverage and accommodation revenues as well as five poker machine entitlements attached to the hotel licence.

Mr Jolliffe expected interest from local and interstate hoteliers who recognise the rare nature of historically significant hotels such as this, and from commercial property investors who identify with the scale and quality of the holding on the main thoroughfare joining the North Sydney CBD to Sydney Harbour.

HTL’s Sam Handy and Dan Dragicevich are also acting in negotiations. The listing follows JLL Hotels’ record-setting $70m pub sale last week, involving the sale and purchase of two hotels – the leasehold interest of the Criterion Hotel, Sydney, and the freehold going concern of the Crescent Hotel, Fairfield, on behalf of the private Gallagher Hotels and Redcape respectively.

JLL Hotels have also sold the Unicorn Hotel in Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs to JDA hotels, led by John and Dean Feros. The pub was sold on behalf of a private investor who purchased it in 2020. The Unicorn will add to their pubs across NSW and Queensland which include the General Gordon, Padstow Park Hotel, Charlie Chans, Mermaid Beach Tavern and Gold Coast Tavern.