Adam MacFarlane reckons there are two asset classes that are hotter than hot. The first is foreign exchange, of which he got a taste when he scored a job at JPMorgan in Sydney in late 2002, despite never completing his uni degree. He later founded a global foreign exchange conduit called Via-FX and has just returned to Australia after spending 15 years in the US.

The second asset class is pubs. MacFarlane, an energetic, fast-talking 43-year-old, beams with excitement as he talks about his plans for the 102-year-old Lord Roberts Hotel, a bright-yellow heritage hotel on the corner of Stanley and Riley streets in Sydney’s Darlinghurst, close to where he grew up. MacFarlane has assembled a syndicate of investors to acquire the Lord Bob – as locals know it – for $22.5 million.