The Imperial Hotel in Singleton has sold to a private hotel investor for circa $18.5 million, as market demand for regional NSW pubs pushes on.
Sitting around 70km out from Newcastle, in the Upper Hunter region of NSW, the large format Imperial Hotel occupies a ~3,00sqm land parcel, boasts a 31m Hotel Licence, 23 GMES and brings in an average weekly revenue of $105,000.
JLL Hotels & Hospitality’s senior vice president Ben McDonald and vice president Kate MacDonald managed the off-market sale on behalf of private vendors who have held the asset since 2019, the Murphy family.
This is the second hotel sale for the Murphy family, having offloaded their Belmore Hotel property in Maitland, back in 2017.
The family purchased the Imperial, which boasts a public bar, bistro and 14 first floor accommodation rooms, back in 2019 as part of their repositioning towards pubs.
The pub was also sold with CDC approvals in place for expansion of the asset to include a new gaming room, bistro with a beer garden and alfresco dining, public bar and TAB.
“Strong performing regional hotels easily accessible from Sydney continue to attract the discerning eye of astute hoteliers and investors given their cashflow generation ability, consistent performance, and growing local economies,” said MacDonald.
JLL reaffirmed their confidence in the medium term in demand for regional hotels that boast strong investment fundamentals, with multiple hotel sales to announced in the coming weeks.
This follows recent transactions for team including the Criterion Hotel, Gundagai, Thomas Blamey Hotel, Wagga Wagga, Shaws Bay Hotel, Ballina and the New Albury Hotel in Albury, NSW which was up for grabs for the second time in a year.
While down in Victoria, regional pubs including the coastal Apollo Bay Hotel was sold well above reserve by JLL for the first time in 30 years.
