Universal Hotels has sold the leasehold of the Newtown Hotel in inner-Sydney to a private local hotelier.
Newtown Hotel was one of fifteen hotels in the Universal portfolio – owned and operated by the Kospetas family – including five popular leasehold businesses located all around Sydney.
JLL’s Kate MacDonald and Greg Jeloudev were exclusively appointed to steer the EOI campaign, which saw interest from more than 50 genuine parties due to the attractive investment fundamentals offered by the inner west corner pub.
“It’s a bittersweet transaction for us. We love King Street and the amazing community who have been, and continue to be, so supportive of our group,” stated Universal Hotels CEO Harris Kospetas.
“We are confident the purchaser will continue to build on the great foundation our team have created at Newtown Hotel, and we wish them the best of luck.”
Newtown Hotel enjoys significant exposure on famed King Street and features a spacious public bar on the ground floor, a large all-weather beer garden, gaming room, pool room and a dormant kitchen which is ready to be reactivated.
The first floor consists of a large dining space, commercial kitchen, bar, and the popular balcony overlooking King Street, which received an additional 2 hours of trade in late 2024. The top floor of the hotel offers some additional underutilised function spaces providing the incoming operator with genuine upside potential with minimal investment.
The pub also have a 1am trading approval, average weekly revenue exceeding $120,000, ten gaming machines, and prime positioning at the gateway to Sydney’s most vibrant retail and entertainment strip, King Street Newtown.
MacDonald said high-turnover operations continue to garner plenty of interest across the industry. “These high cash-flow businesses with strong earnings will always be highly sought-after by market participants. As investment metrics start to compress with rate reductions, we will see leasehold opportunities continue to gain interest from portfolio owners and market entrants alike.”
Where do the pub investment opportunities lie across Australia?
This is the question that JLL Senior VP Will Connolly will be answering at the Pub Leaders Summit next week on Monday 21 July at Eatons Hills Hotel in Brisbane.
Joining him will be respected hoteliers Adonis Ghanem of Ghanem Group; Albert Hakfoort of Hakfoort Group; and Richard Deery, owner of the Story Bridge Hotel.
To hear about pub investment as well as many topics pertaining to hospitality operations, register for your tickets now at www.publeaders.com.au