Longstanding and respected Sydney publican Vicki Webster has sold the family’s Richard’s on the Park Hotel in Canley Vale in a $64 million transaction, marking the first time the pub has changed hands in more than 40 years.
The sale represents the Webster family’s full exit from the hotel industry, following the passing of Phil Webster, long-serving AHA NSW Committee member and widely regarded industry figure, in 2024. The family leaves behind a strong legacy in Sydney’s pub landscape, with Richard’s on the Park remaining a landmark Western Sydney venue under new ownership.
Occupying a 4,389 sqm site in the centre of the expanding Canley Vale retail precinct, the large-format hotel offers a public bar, gaming room with 30 gaming machine entitlements, a state-leading TAB business, first-floor accommodation rooms and expansive on-sight parking – making it a highly sought-after asset.
The hotel was acquired by Lewis Hotels, headed by John Lewis, whose portfolio features more pubs across the state, including the Canley Hotel, the Beverly Hills Hotel, the Croydon Park Hotel, the Kogarah Tavern, the Royal Exchange Hotel in Marrickville and the Kings Tavern in Potts Point.
The sale of Richard’s on Park is said to represent the largest Sydney hotel sale of 2025, and one of the largest pub sales nationally, after the $140m sale of the Beach Hotel in Byron Bay earlier this year, when Redcape sold the renowned pub to the Didier family. Both transactions were facilitated by JLL.
The Richard’s on the Park Hotel sale was handled off market by JLL’s executive director John Musca and managing director Ben McDonald, who said investors continue to target pubs as one of Australia’s best-performing real estate sectors.
McDonald commented: “With over $1.7 billion in transactions thus far in 2025, deal volumes are set to far exceed 2024 levels with the market currently 55 per cent up year-on-year, highlighting the ongoing strength of the sector and significant pent-up demand from unsatiated capital.”