Pub boom sees Pyrmont’s Quarryman’s Hotel change hands
The national boom in pubs has stepped up a notch with a series of transactions struck in major cities as long-time publican families and listed companies trade properties with strong gaming revenues.
In one of the latest plays in Sydney, publican Arthur Laundy has sold the Quarryman’s Hotel in Pyrmont to industry stalwart Colin M. Parras for about $12.5 million.
Parras had been out of the market since selling the Peachtree Hotel in Penrith about 18 months ago to listed developer BHL, but the strong conditions tempted him back.
The deal was brokered by HTL Property’s Sam Handy and Dan Dragicevich and Knight Frank Hotels’ Mike Wheatley.
The Quarryman’s Hotel, on the corner of Pyrmont Bridge Road and Harris Street, is a three-level hotel including a rooftop beer garden with CBD and skyline views.
Laundy bought the hotel in 2011 for $3.5 million and then renovated, adding a second-floor bar and the rooftop facility.
Speaking for the Laundy family interests, Patrick Maguire says the shareholders have been presented with a “compelling” offer.
HTL Property has had a strong run of sales this year, negotiating three other Sydney pub sales with two more agreed. Just this week the Captain Cook Hotel in Botany sold for about $17m to Fanatics Group founder Warren Livingstone.
“We anticipate the Sydney metropolitan mid-market to be a very active segment this year,” Dragicevich says.
On the listed side, pub landlord Hotel Property Investments tapped JPMorgan and E&P Corporate Advisory to raise about $30 million to help fund its purchase of two pubs.
The fund bought the Gregory Hills Hotel and Acacia Ridge Hotel in separate sale and lease-back deals brokered by HTL.
Gregory Hills Hotel is the trust’s first Sydney pub and it paid $40 million, while the Acacia Ridge Hotel in Brisbane was bought for $20 million.
The Sydney hotel has two bars, 30 gaming machines and a bottle shop. It was built in 2016 and traded on a 5.5% yield. It is a top 30 gaming pub and is run by the Royal Hotels Group.
The Brisbane property also traded at 5.5%. The large format suburban hotel has a drive through and walk-in bottle shop, bars, a TAB, bistro bar and 45 gaming machines.
The property, run by Monarch Hotel Management, also has 42 motel rooms and is in the top 10 gaming hotels in Queensland.
HTL Property managing director Andrew Jolliffe said the two pubs covered more than 30,000sq m of prime commercial property and positioned the company’s strategic interests in both Sydney and Brisbane’s growth corridors.
Pub activity is nationwide. In South Australia, a consortium of owners from the Corio Hotel in Goolwa has just bought the nearby Hotel Victor in Victor Harbor. The $9.3 million sale of the freehold by the Virgin family was brokered by JLL’s Will Connolly. It features 33 guest rooms, a large public bar, a restaurant, 34 gaming machines, a large conference facility and a bottle shop.
This article originally appeared on www.theaustralian.com.au/property.
