Long-time publican back in the game with near-$15m coastal pub buy
Pub operator Kelly & Co. Hotels has snapped up Narooma Hotel on the NSW Sapphire Coast for close to $15 million, with Australia’s booming pub market showing no sign of slowing down.
Publicans Matthew and Liam Sweeney sold the pub in the seaside town, which overlooks Wagonga Inlet, after eight years of ownership.
Its new owner is Rodney “Ned” Kelly, who leads Kelly & Co Hotels, which also owns Kelly’s Irish Pub in Mudgee, in the NSW central west region. The hotel group sold Centennial Hotel in Gulgong in December 2023, as well as Tattersalls Hotel in Casino, NSW’s Richmond Valley in 2024.
Kelly said that while he had relinquished the majority of Kelly & Co Hotels’ portfolio two or so years ago, the appetite to acquire venues had returned.
“[I] was on a motorbike ride down in that part of the world [Narooma] when [Narooma Hotel] came on the market,” he told The Australian Financial Review. “That sort of pub with that view, you don’t get it. You stand out there, and you think, look, this thing just won’t come up again.”
While he was looking to expand Kelly & Co Hotels eventually, Kelly said there was work to do at both Kelly’s Irish Pub and the Narooma Hotel.
“There’s a lot to do at that [Narooma] Hotel which I’m really excited about. So rather than just unbridled acquisition, there’s probably a lot of value to unlock at that asset before we look outside,” he said.
“For example, that particular pub [Narooma Hotel], colloquially known as the ‘million dollar view hotel’, they put the kitchen and the office in front of half the view, that’s the back of the hotel.”
The venue generates annual revenues of $4.6 million, has a 1am trading approval and 12 poker machine entitlements. The entire property spans about 2023 square metres and is one of just two pubs in the township.
Hospitality baron Justin Hemmes has also invested heavily in Narooma, which gave Kelly more confidence to invest in the area. Hemmes’ company Merivale operates the venues Lynch’s, The Inlet and Quarterdeck in Narooma.
Kelly was formerly part of a pub company called Riversdale Group which operated about 12 venues at its peak across NSW and Queensland before it came to an end about a decade ago. It was backed by former Qantas chief executive Geoff Dixon, advertising baron John Singleton and renowned investor Mark Carnegie.
Riversdale’s portfolio at the time included the Marlborough Hotel in Newtown and The Peakhurst in the eponymous suburb, both in Sydney.
“When that fund wound up, I just moved to the country. Had enough of the corporate side of it, so moved out here and have enjoyed 10 years now, at a stage of life where I wouldn’t mind looking back at the coast,” Kelly said.
HTL Property’s Blake Edwards, who managed the sales campaign of Narooma Hotel alongside Sam Handy, said they were overwhelmed by the number of inquiries received and had an extremely competitive bidding process to manage.
“We were not at all surprised by how well the asset was received by the market during the sale process,” he said.
The pub trade is getting busy early in the year, even after 2025, with more than $2 billion transacted over 179 deals in pubs, taverns and bars last year.
Last month the nation’s second-largest pub owner, Australian Venue Co, snapped up a portfolio of four venues from Solotel Group, a transaction estimated to be worth between $50 million and $60 million.
