Billionaire’s daughter snaps up iconic Sydney pub

The sale will mark the end of the Hargreaves family’s 32-year stint of owning the pub, which has become something of an institution in the inner-city suburb.

The late Margaret Hargreaves ran the Strawberry Hills Hotel for more than three decades, as well as the Shakespeare Hotel nearby, which the family sold in 2024 after almost 50 years of ownership.

Following her death, the family has now also sold its remaining pub, severing their long tie to the Sydney hospitality scene.

The Strawberry Hills Hotel venue has a ground-floor public bar, a gaming room with 26 poker machines and an upstairs alfresco drinking and dining area.

As the new owners, Richardson said she and her husband had been searching for another pub to add to their growing collection.

“My husband and I were looking around for an opportunity for our family,” she told the Australian Financial Review.

“We love the industry, and we love that it’s been a family hotel through many generations, and a very popular and well-known, iconic hotel in Sydney that fitted [our] portfolio really nicely.”

The couple already own or have a stake in four pubs, including the Red Lion in Rozelle, the Long Jetty Hotel on the Central Coast, the Orana Hotel in Blacksmiths and the Tacking Point Tavern in Port Macquarie.

The Strawberry Hills Hotel will become their fifth watering hole, most of which operate under Laundy Hotels.

The hospitality empire was established by Richardson’s father, Arthur Laundy, managing a whopping 46 venues across Australia.

Richardson said the couple were excited to take over the Surry Hills pub, with plans to build on its already well-established community.

The sale was negotiated off-market by JLL’s Kate MacDonald and Ben McDonald, with the Richardsons set to take over operations before Christmas.

MacDonald said the Hargreaves family should be proud of the pub’s legacy.

“The Hargreaves family have built an incredibly strong business in Strawberry Hills Hotel and should be enormously proud of its popularity and longevity in Sydney’s hospitality scene,” she said.

The deal comes amid a string of pub sales across Sydney, with some of the city’s most iconic venues changing hands this year.

Surry Hills’ The Clock Hotel and The Bank Hotel in Newtown were snapped up by Australian Venue Co in August in a deal worth more than $90 million.

Rozelle’s Sackville Hotel was also sold to hospitality giant Justin Hemmes’ Merivale for close to $50 million, while the Oaks Hotel in Neutral Bay sold for a record $132.5 million earlier this year.