Pub tsar Justin Hemmes has splashed out $62 million on pubs in regional Victoria and inner Sydney after buying the Lorne Hotel on the Great Ocean Road and Norton’s Irish Pub in Leichhardt.

The acquisition of the landmark Lorne Hotel from the Upham family for $38 million is the second Victorian venue acquired by the Financial Review Rich Lister’s Merivale Group, after it paid $42 million for its maiden acquisition in the state, Tomasetti House on Flinders Lane home to the Mill House Bar and Restaurant.