Highclere Hospitality Co. has successfully sold the Captain Cook Hotel, located in Botany in Sydney’s inner-south, with Kent Walker’s Lesday Hotel Group as the new owners.
Since Highclere purchased the venue in 2020, the group has invested significantly into elevating the Captain Cook Hotel and attracting a more diverse clientele.
Warren Livingstone, founder of Highclere Hospitality Co., spoke to Australian Hotelier about the efforts that went into revitalising the pub.
“We took it over in March 2020, five days before the first Covid shutdown, so it really is a Covid baby. That shutdown provided an opportunity to spend some money doing her up and then we worked hard to make it all inclusive. We stopped the topless barmaids which were a staple for many years. That put a few people off, but as a result we attracted a different clientele, including females and families. The change wasn’t easy, and we had 18 months of push back, but it was the right decision,” he said.
The sale was overseen by HTL Property directors, Dan Dragicevich and Andrew Jolliffe.
“When I was approached by Dan at HTL I hadn’t thought of selling, but we showed it to two buyers and it didn’t take long. Kent Walker was very easy to deal with, a true gentleman, and Dan was patient while I got my head around selling. This is the first pub I have sold so I was tortured for a while, but it was a good result for everyone,” Livingstone said.
“I am definitely sad to see it go. It’s a great pub, in a great area with great locals. It’s a proper pub. By far the best in Botany.”
Future growth potential
The Captain Cook Hotel will join Lesday Hotel Group’s portfolio of 10 other venues, spread across Sydney and Wollongong. It boasts a high foot traffic position on Botany Road, a main thoroughfare in the area, as well as late-night trading privileges, entitlements for 30 gaming machines, and 11 motel rooms. In addition, the beer garden has been designed by esteemed designer Will Dangar.
Dragicevich said that the area in which the hotel is located has strong growth potential.
“The Captain Cook exhibits all the fundamentals of a sustainable pub business model which, when coupled with the Bayside LGA development story, go a long way to ensuring sustainably prosperous earnings growth.”
Fanatics court case win
Alongside the sale of the Captain Cook Hotel, Livingstone has had a recent win with his other business venture, sports travel and merchandise company Fanatics. Livingstone founded Fanatics in 1997 and first registered it as a trademark in 2002, and again in 2008. Two years later, in 2010, an American company also called Fanatics launched a trademark battle, claiming that it had previously operated in Australia under the Fanatics name in 1998. The company is valued at US$32b, approximately AU$50b, and is owned by billionaire Michael Rubin, with part ownership from musician Jay Z.
The case eventually went to the Australian Federal Court, which Livingstone described as a David and Goliath battle. The Federal Court found that the US-based Fanatics first used the name in Australia in 2010, years after Livingstone had trademarked the name. Last week, the court ruled in favour of Livingstone, ordering the US company to cease sale of branded products within Australia.
Following a period of intense activity across both the Fanatics and Highclere Hospitality Co. businesses, Livingstone is looking forward to the chance to plan for the future.
“It’s been a big week for me personally with the court case win and then this sale, so I will try to enjoy the spoils for a little while, play some golf at the great Bonnie Doon golf course, and then think about what’s next,” he said.
“I may sell another, I may buy another, but I am definitely going to ramp up the sports travel and merchandise business at Fanatics again. It’s what I enjoy the most.”