The Oxford Hotel last sold for $34m in 2015. Photo: Supplied

NSW pub deals top $800m as the Oxford hits the market

Larry Schlesinger|Jun 20, 2019

The value of NSW pub deals will top $800 million this financial year, a 14 per cent gain on the previous year, as money pours into the sector from mainly private investors, publicans and funds, analysis by broker HTL Property has found.

“The New South Wales pub sector has experienced another exceptionally strong year despite economic and political headwinds,” said HTL director Andrew Jolliffe who negotiated a number of the top deals including the $65 million sale of the Hotel Steyne last month.

In all HTL counted 39 separate deals across metropolitan, coastal and regional transactions over the past 12 months with the average capitalisation rate for metro transactions coming in at 8.1 per cent.

Sydney metropolitan transactions accounted for just over half the total sales with a combined value of $390 million across 21 separate transactions.

Notable metro deals over the past year include the $65 million sale of the Hotel Steyne in Manly to Iris Capital, the $50 million sale of the Woollahra Hotel and Bistro Moncur restaurant in Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs by Sydney publican Mitchell Waugh to his older brother Ashton and other members of the Waugh family and John Singleton buying Gosford’s Elanora Hotel for $25 million two months ago.

Regional deals include the sale of one of the NSW Riverina’s top gaming pubs, the Area Hotel in Griffith, bought by local publican Jim Knox for about $8 million earlier in the year.

The flow of big pub deals is likely to continue into the next financial year with the listing this month of the Oxford Hotel in Drummoyne by hoteliers Joanne Cassar and Michael Higgins, where price expectations are around $42 million.

The sale of the corner venue gaming pub in Sydney’s inner-west is being handled by Mr Jolliffe and HTL fellow director Dan Dragicevich.

Mr Wiggins and Miss Cassar sold the Royal Exhibition in Surry Hills to the Thomas Hotel Group in 2015 for $19 million to buy the Oxford from Iris Group for around $34 million.

The Oxford comprises 30 gaming machines, and was only recently approved
to trade until 4am.

A development application was recently lodged to extend the existing gaming room’s size by about 30 per cent with the activation of a rooftop beer garden also a possibility.

The Oxford Hotel occupies a 974-square-metre corner site on Victoria Road. Included in the sale is the adjoining retail building at 15 – 17 Lyons Road, which currently delivers $107,448 in rent per annum.

“The Oxford Hotel is a beacon of opportunity and a rare and timely call to action for astute investors with a mandate to acquire Top 100 gaming properties” said Mr Jolliffe.