Laundy buys Drummoyne’s Oxford Hotel

Drummoyne’s Oxford Hotel has a new owner with publican Arthur Laundy paying $42 million for the popular establishment.

The result comes two weeks after publican Michael Wiggins and Joanne Cassar listed the 974sqm site at the corner of Victoria Rd and Lyons Rd.

Laundy’s purchase takes the number of hotels he controls in NSW and Queensland to 69. That number will soon be 70, when “The Locker Room” at Sydney Olympic Park opens.

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Laundy says he is thrilled to be taking the keys to the iconic inner west pub that first opened its doors to patrons in 1929.

“My son Craig was the local member when he was in parliament and our family have a long affiliation with the area,” he says.

Included in the sale is the adjoining retail building at 15-17 Lyons Rd, as well as frontage to three streets. Laundy has also bought a former bank branch for $3 million, giving him control of the entire block.

The site has B4 mixed-use zoning that allows for a height limit of 15m. Laundy told The Australian that he is yet to decide what he will do with the block.

Arthur Laundy with his son and former MP Craig Laundy at their pub in Marsden Park. Picture: Tim Hunter.

“I have a few things in mind, but it’s not something I can be empathetic about … when you land bank three sites, there’s a lot of options,” he said in The Australian.

The $42 million purchase follows the sale of Manly’s Hotel Steyne, which Mr Laundy had a stake in. While the sale price is confidential, it is believed to have sold for between $60 and $80 million.

HTL Property managing director Andrew Jolliffe says the Federal election and a cut in interest rates by the Reserve Bank has lifted activity in the pub market.

“We are now seeing as active a transaction landscape as ever seen for quality hotel operations indexed to best in class gaming performance,” he says.

The Oxford Hotel has 30 poker machines, several bar and food outlets, as well as the potential for a rooftop garden to capture Sydney Harbour views. It was last traded in September 2015 for $33,499,999, according to CoreLogic.

This article from The Daily Telegraph originally appeared as “Pub baron Arthur Laundy buys popular Oxford Hotel in Drummoyne”.