Alongside the Bar Broadway, Young Hotels owns the Illinois Hotel in Five Dock, the Five Dock Hotel, the Royal Hotel Top Ryde, the Concord Hotel in Concord West and the Mortlake Hotel. The Young family also owns the Wisemans Ferry Inn on the Hawkesbury.
“We’re very excited about taking on the challenge of running the Bar Broadway. There’s a lot of development going on in the area,” Mr Young told The Australian Financial Review.
Asked about the current appetite for pubs, Mr Young said astute operators were adding value to their portfolios.
“When good assets came up for sale, they are willing to pay a price for them,”
The acquisition of the Chippendale hotel follows Young Hotels selling the Friend in Hand Hotel in Glebe in the inner west for $11 million to Momento Hospitality Group in May.
“My mum and dad had that hotel in Glebe a long time ago,” Mr Young said.
The Bar Broadway sold with a 24-hour hotel license, 28 pokies, a bar and two levels with 36 accommodation beds. There is the opportunity to develop two additional upper floors of accommodation.
It was the first time in nearly two decades that both the freehold and leasehold interests of the hotel had been stapled together and offered as one investment.
The freehold was offered by Jenni Halpin, who had previously jointly owned it with her late husband Robert, who passed away in 2006. The leasehold was held by publican Justin Aitken’s Kasajumi Holdings.
JLL’s John Musca and Ben McDonald and Knight Frank’s Mike Wheatley brokered the sale on behalf of the long-term vendors, who are both exiting the industry to retire and pursue other commercial interests.
Mr McDonald highlighted the unparalleled location of the asset as being the key driver of interest in the campaign.
The Tech Central Precinct is set to house 250,000 sq m of new office space, whilst the NSW government is spending close to $1 billion on upgrading Central Station.