The purchase by rising hospitality star Glenn Piper of iconic Scarborough Hotel on NSW’s south coast has spurred hopes that trade in the sector could return near record levels in 2024, according to one of Australia’s leading pub brokers.

The pace of investment is picking up. In the past week alone, regional pubs roll-up Harvest Hotels acquired the Queanbeyan-based Jerrabomberra Hotel for between $24 million and $27 million, while ASX-listed Charter Hall took a near-15 per cent stake in $640 million pubs landlord HPI last Thursday.