Famed corner pub in Sydney’s CBD, The Republic, has been sold by Singaporean Investment Trust for circa $40 million.
Located centrally within the CBD, the freehold of Republic Hotel was owned by esteemed publican Patrick Ryan and family, before selling the asset to Singaporean Investment Trust in October 2017. As part of that sale, the hotel was leased backed to the Ryan family to run the pub business.
For this latest sale, JLL and Savills Australia conducted the process on behalf of Singaporean Investment Trust.
The hotel allows for trading across four floors, including the public bar and gaming room with 28 gaming machine entitlements on the ground floor; Republic Dining on the first floor; conference and events facilities on the second floor; and the highly acclaimed Taylor’s Rooftop Bar.
“The sale of the Republic Hotel demonstrates the continued demand of well-trading pub assets that benefit from strong underlying real estate,” stated Nick Lower of Savills Australia & New Zealand.
“As one of 2023’s most significant core Sydney CBD transactions, along with being one of the most well-known trophy assets in the pub sector, this successful result shows that there is still considerable demand in the market.”
The Republic Hotel was sold to diversified property group, Virtical, seeking to capitalise on the strong underlying attributes of the asset including its CBD location, 5am trading approval, 28 gaming machine entitlements and growing revenue profile set to benefit from the hotel’s proximity to a broad scope of real estate development activity.
“The sale of the Republic Hotel exemplifies the allure of prime pub assets and their continued appeal to a varied investor base including private operators, syndicated capital and more traditional real estate investors. An unmatched location, historic trade performance and boutique nature of the building made it a truly exceptional opportunity for the purchaser, seeking long-term value in a world class CBD location,” stated Ben McDonald of JLL Hotels.
“This transaction speaks to the enduring appeal of pubs that hold a unique place in the urban fabric of the Sydney CBD.”