In October, a trio of investors including Joe Bartolo, the boss of construction and equipment hire company Symal, settled on the Savoia Hotel in the Victorian town of Hepburn Springs.

Mr Bartolo, along with real estate agents Greg Hocking and Wayne Elly, paid just more than $2 million for the renovated pub in the Macedon Ranges, a boutique tourism region within easy reach of Melbourne. The location boomed during the pandemic.