Frisco Hotel in Sydney’s Woolloomooloo tipped to fetch $14 million

The pub, which has 17 gaming machines, is on 323 square metres and earns nearly $3.5 million in revenue a year across food, bar and gaming. It has been run by Adam Micola since 2016, the same year he undertook a $1.2 million refurbishment.

Nick Butler of Manenti Quinlan said the renovations had “set it up for the next owner, basically”.

“Current owners have overseen an extensive renovation, relaunching with modern improvements while paying due respect to its naval heritage,” he said.

“(The property) would either be a foundation asset for a larger portfolio or a great addition to an existing portfolio for operators that have been around for a long time.”

Mr Butler said that it was rare to have a substantial pub property listed on the public market, with many well-known assets being snapped up off-market by the publican giants.

“Your Solotels and Merivales are getting access to a lot of these assets before they even get to market, so this is quite a rare offering because it’s a public campaign.

“It’ll actually allow everyone to have a crack instead of finding out after the sale, which has been happening in the past 12 months – the first they hear about the hotels being on the market is that they’ve already been sold.”

The sports bar, which can also be used as a function space, is located on the ground floor, while six accommodation rooms are on the third floor.

A development application to build a rooftop bar at the property was lodged this year.

Mr Butler said bank lending in the current environment was “very tight”.

“Pubs are a very good place to have your money at the moment, as opposed to in the bank or in other lower-performing assets.

“In general people are buying assets that are proven performers in proven parts of town and people are less likely to take risks in areas that aren’t as high traffic as Woolloomooloo.