Sydney-based pub and hotel group, Oscars Group, has made its first foray in South Australia with the acquisition of the Fahey Hotels portfolio of pubs within Adelaide.
Oscars Group has acquired the freehold going concern interests in the Lakes Resort Hotel, Bridgeway Hotel and Maid & Magpie Hotel all located throughout metropolitan Adelaide. The acquisition gives Oscars Group 80 hotel rooms, 30,000sqm of land, 113 gaming authorities and extensive retail liquor and function facilities within South Australia’s capital city.
The acquisition was guided by JLL’s John Musca, in conjunction with Terry Board of T.J. Board Hotels Pty Ltd.
It’s the first move into South Australia for Oscars Group, which has a portfolio inclusive of 25 pubs and 12 accommodation hotels throughout New South Wales.
“We were excited by the portfolio opportunity that JLL identified as a natural fit to our diversified hospitality interests and national growth strategy and are grateful to the Fahey family for the carriage of these great businesses,” said Oscars Group director Bill Gravanis.
The sale exemplifies the current interest in the Adelaide hotel investment market, with South Australia becoming sought-after for its stable legislative environment, robust trade growth and value-add operating opportunities, while asset availability remains tight due to long-term generational ownership and the low number of hotels per capita. Interstate hotelier interest in the state is building following the more recent highly successful move of the Harvest Hotel Fund and Australian Venue Co into Adelaide, investing in pubs within South Australia.
Oscars Group has continued to pounce on significant investment opportunities, with the acquisition of the Fahey pub trio coming six months after the group acquired a landmark Australian destination, Luna Park Sydney.
In 2024 the group also completed a significant renovation of The Bristol in Sydney’s CBD, a pub that closed during covid in 2020. Oscars Group acquired it after its closure, and spent the intervening years repositioning and redeveloping the pub as a multi-level dining and entertainment precinct.
