Central Tablelands pub changes hands in $25m deal
A Bathurst pub in the NSW Central Tablelands region has sold for $25 million, marking one of the strongest prices for a regional hotel transaction so far this year.
Taking over at the Panorama Hotel Motel, which has been owned and run by the Gibbons family for the past 11 years, is well-established operator Harris and Narvo Hotels.
The joint venture is headed by veteran publicans Peter Harris and Gary Narvo who, along with their wives Jane and Kerry respectively, were inducted into the Australian Hotels Association’s Hall of Fame last year.
The publicans operate a number of venues across the state, both together and separately, including Hotel Gosford, the Lakes Hotel on the Central Coast, and other venues in the Newcastle and Snowy Mountains regions.
The latest addition to their portfolio sits next to the Bathurst Showground. It has 12 gaming machine entitlements, 70 guest suites, a manager’s apartment, swimming pool and off-street parking for 87 cars.
Jordan Harris, general manager of Harris and Narvo Hotels and son of Peter Harris, said the group had been searching for more hotels in regional hubs with growth potential, to complement what the venture has been doing with its portfolio, including at Hotel Gosford and the Banjo Patterson Inn in Jindabyne.
“The team at the Panorama have been running a great asset and after spending some time to understand the venue and community, [we] think it’s a good fit for us for the years to come,” he said.
“We started in country pubs, so it’s great to be able to keep investing there and especially in a strong regional city like Bathurst.”
The new owners plan upgrades for both the pub and accommodation facilities at Bathurst over time, he said.
“The increasing demand for pubs with accommodation has also become increasingly evident as owner operators look to diversify their trading mix,” said JLL’s Kate Macdonald, who brokered the off-market deal.
The Bathurst sale represents the second-biggest regional pub sale so far this year, after Byron Bay’s Beach Hotel was bought by businessman Scott Didier for $140 million in May in what was the second-biggest pub trade on record.
Country pubs are typically seen as operating in a different market to major coastal destinations, such as Byron Bay.
Among the other big pub sales in NSW this year, the Crystal Palace Hotel in Sydney’s CBD sold for the first time in 45 years to the Feros family’s JDA Hotels for about $35 million in April. Haymarket’s Agincourt Hotel changed hands for around $30 million in May.
Another regional pub listing in the market is The Gem Hotel in the NSW Riverina region, which has expectations at the $50 million mark.
