Iconic Sydney pub snapped up in $100m deal
A popular watering hole in Sydney’s east has been snapped up by a hotelier family in an eye-watering off-market deal.
No sale price has been disclosed for the purchase of Double Bay pub the Royal Oak Hotel, but industry insiders estimate the deal to be worth $100 million, according to the Australian Financial Review.
The off-market sale marks a homecoming for the Ryan family, who are returning to the Double Bay pub scene decades after selling another of the suburb’s best-known venues.
“The family are particularly excited about being back in a Double Bay pub,” Patrick Ryan said in a statement.
The Ryans have a long history in the eastern suburbs that stretches back to 1936, when Patrick Ryan’s grandmother became the first tenant of The Golden Sheaf.
The pub, known to locals simply as The Sheaf, had been built by Sydney brewing company Tooth & Co.
Ryan’s father went on to buy it from his in-laws in 1974, before subsequently acquiring the freehold real estate from Tooth & Co.
The family eventually sold The Sheaf to the Lyons syndicate in 1986 before building up a collection of venues elsewhere in Sydney.
The Ryans approached the Royal Hotels Group, owned by brothers Jamie, Justin and Ed Malouf, with an unsolicited offer for the Royal Oak.
“We’re delighted to have acquired such a well-known and equally well-patronised Sydney hotel and look forward to continuing the outstanding custodianship carried by the Royal Hotels Group over the past 15 years,” Ryan said.
Royal Hotels Group’s Ed Malouf said the family were pleased to hand the venue over to another established name in the industry.
“It’s a great result that the [Royal Oak] hotel will be handed over to the Ryan family, who are well-recognised, astute hotel operators in the pub industry, and we wish them all the best going forward,” Malouf said in a statement.
The Royal Oak joins an extensive pub portfolio for the Ryans, which includes the Orient Hotel at The Rocks, Ryan’s Bar on George Street, the Covent Garden Hotel in Chinatown and the Paragon Hotel and Ship Inn at Circular Quay.
The family also paid $75 million for the Tea Gardens Hotel at Bondi Junction in 2024.
The Royal Oak deal comes amid a string of sales for some of Australia’s best-known pubs.
Earlier this year, Neutral Bay institution the Oaks Hotel changed hands for more than $130 million, while Byron Bay’s Beach Hotel sold for about $140 million last year.
The Clock Hotel in Surry Hills and The Bank Hotel in Newtown sold last month in a deal worth more than $90 million.
The Crossroads Hotel at Casula holds the record for the biggest single pub transaction, after selling for $160 million.
