Pubs Stay Hot with Flurry of Listings, Sales in NSW Capital

Punters are queuing up for deals on historic pubs as confidence in the sector stays strong.

After a number of recent sales, two significant Sydney campaigns are underway.

The activity demonstrates appetite in the sector in the face of changing consumer behaviours around alcohol and gaming machines, and consumer spending pressures.

In Woolloomooloo, Ray White Commercial SC is marketing former pub The Merryfield at 2-4 Sir John Young Crescent as a deceased estate.

The building has 696sq m across three storeys, and a history of adaptability. Most recently home to the John Passmore Museum, it has also been strata-titled in the past and retains infrastructure from that use.

Zoned MU1 Mixed-Use and with a corner site at the CBD fringe, the agents said potential use could include residential, office or pub fitouts.

Meanwhile, HTL Property is marketing Sydney’s White Cockatoo Hotel (pictured top) in the Inner West, with expressions of interest closing on September 9.

Established in 1886, the White Cockatoo is next to the Petersham train station and boasts a 700sq m frontage, 19 accommodation rooms and eight gaming machine licenses.

Once primarily renowned (or notorious) for its enormous schnitzels, the White Cockatoo has been the subject of $3 million in renovations and HTL Property is marketing the pub on its strong income across a diversified customer base and revenue streams.

▲ The Three Weeds at Rozelle changed hands last month.

HTL Property also oversaw the sale of Paddington’s Rose, Shamrock and Thistle (better known as the Three Weeds) in July. The most recent owner, Jon Adgemis, surrendered the property into receivership after a taqueria-style cocktail operation failed to make a splash.

First trading in 1884, the Three Weeds was redeveloped into an art deco building with 536sq m in 1939. HTL Property advertised the site as holding DA-approval for 22 accommodation suites.

Another of Adgemis’s former properties, Balmain’s Town Hall Hotel, was also sold by HTL Property out of receivership, also in July.

In Melbourne, JLL’s Will Connolly has handled a pair of recent hotel transactions.

Fitzroy’s 1916 Napier Hotel has traded hands after 30 years under an owner-operator, while South Melbourne’s 1874 Bells Hotel settled for $20 million.