One of Australia’s most famed pubs, The Oaks in Neutral Bay, Sydney, has sold.
After nearly 50 years of private family operation, the Oaks was put up for sale by the Thomas family for the first time in its history.
While there has been much speculation about the sale, details are being kept strictly confidential.
“I can confirm it has sold to a local family and long-time patrons of The Oaks,” confirmed JLL’s Managing Director John Musca, who handled the sale campaign along with colleague Ben McDonald.
“It is expected to settle soon, and you will see continuity of this wonderful, community business.”
The Oaks possesses a 2188 sqm corner block in Neutral Bay, and comprises five storeys. The diverse business mix includes the upmarket Alala’s Restaurant, The Bar and Grill, Taffy’s Sports Bar, numerous function spaces on both the ground and first floor, VIP Lounge with 30 PMEs, and a bottleshop. Its most famed asset is the large beer garden enveloped by an enormous English Oak tree.
While the acquisition of the The Oaks as is was always am attractive proposition, the hotel still has further development opportunity. Its inherent future development scope is highlighted by the property’s B4 ‘Mixed Use’ zoning, underutilised GFA and 16m height limit, offering the opportunity to add an additional three levels on top of the existing structure (STCA).
When the sale campaign was first announced, the JLL team stressed the rarity of such an asset coming to market.
“As in all real estate sectors the premier assets often only come to market once in a lifetime, which is even more prevalent in the highly protected hotel industry where assets of this scale and quality will simply never be approved or replicated again in high-end Sydney demographic locations – we’re fundamentally talking about one of the very best hotels in the asset class,” stated Musca.
McDonald agreed, stating: “It is difficult to imagine any hotel in the country evoking as much emotion, brand heritage and rites of passage than the illustrious Oaks Hotel. It’s going to be a remarkably fulfilling asset for the next lucky generational owners.”
At the time, outgoing owner Andrew Thomas said he and his family decided to sell the venue after receiving numerous unsolicited offers.
The Thomas family will retain their ownership of the Winston Hills Hotel and the Entrance Hotel.