Sydney’s Justin Hemmes swoops on Victoria’s Lorne Hotel

Fresh from transforming Sydney’s pub scene, Justin Hemmes’ Merivale empire has splashed $38m on Victoria’s oceanfront Lorne Hotel.

The Lorne Hotel occupies a prime position in the popular coastal town.

Sydney hotel magnate Justin Hemmes’ Merivale Group has emerged as the country’s most active pub buyer, snapping up Victoria’s oceanfront Lorne Hotel for $38m.

The swoop on the picturesque holiday town comes hard on the heels of Merivale’s $24m purchase of the Irish-themed Norton’s Irish Pub in Leichhardt in Sydney’s inner west.

The move by Merivale gives the company its first operating pub in Victoria and comes weeks after the company purchased Tomasetti House in Melbourne’s Flinders Lane from the Millett family, in a $40m deal.

That venue will be overhauled as the Melbourne CBD comes back to life after the pandemic.

But Hemmes will be pouring the first beers in Lorne well before then, after buying the holiday landmark from the Upham family.

“The Lorne Hotel is an iconic venue in a truly spectacular location,” Mr Hemmes said. “We feel honoured to continue their legacy and help usher the pub into the next phase of its incredible 145-year history.”

With 80 or so pubs and restaurants in NSW, Mr Hemmes’ Merivale group has transformed Sydney’s pub culture, specialising in creating sophisticated pubs and eateries from tired hotels across the city and suburbs.

The Lorne sale was brokered off-market by JLL Hotels & Hospitality Group’s managing director, John Musca and vice president, Will Connolly.

“There’s literally only a handful of very special oceanfront hotels like Lorne around the country,” Mr Musca said.

Just steps from Lorne’s main beach and the end point for the famous ‘Pier to Pub’ swim, the Lorne Hotel has panoramic views of Victoria’s Great Ocean Road.

The pub was sold by the Upham family, which has run the complex for 11 years. It also has accommodation, 10 poker machines and four holiday apartments.

“The Upham family couldn’t think of better custodians of the Lorne Hotel than the Merivale Group,” said owner Paul Upham, who has already put in some foodie touches, adding the “MoVida Lorne” and the “Coda Lorne” restaurants to the venue.

Justin Hemmes has built Merivale into a major pub and restaurant empire in Sydney, and now he’s moving into Victoria. Picture: Darren Leigh Roberts

The deal marks a foray across the border by Sydney publicans extending beyond the ever-tightening hotel market in NSW, where there’s been a boom run in pub deals.

In Sydney, Merivale is adding Norton’s Irish Pub to a stable of other Merivale hotels in the inner west alone, including the Vic on the Park in Marrickville, the Queens Hotel in Enmore and The Three Weeds in Rozelle, which will soon reopen following an refurbishment including the addition of Italian eatery Totti’s.

Mr Hemmes is yet to announce his plans for Norton’s but he confirmed the pub would trade as normal in the lead-up to any refurbishment.

“It is such a privilege to be part of Sydney’s vibrant inner west; every suburb has a unique energy, and their local pubs play a special role in shaping their culture,” Mr Hemmes said.

“We‘re excited to not only expand our inner west pub portfolio, but reopen doors to the Three Weeds, a beautiful and much-loved local institution, this spring.”

More grit than glitz - Merivale’s new Sydney purchase, Norton's Irish Pub.

The vendor of Norton’s was hotelier Peter Walker, who had picked up the Leichhardt pub for about $14.5m in 2016 from Gallagher Hotel Management.

The Irish-themed venue on the corner of Norton Street and Parramatta Road had been renovated but is likely to be re-done by Merivale. The hotel also has 28 pokies and a 5am trading licence.

JLL’s Mr Musca and senior vice president Ben McDonald negotiated the sale.

“We‘re delighted to facilitate another off-market transaction on behalf of the private owners to widely respected industry stakeholders Merivale, for a quality asset with exceptional underlying trading attributes,” Mr McDonald said.

Mr Musca said the sale comes on the back of an extraordinary period of capital flow to the sector, evidenced by more than $1bn of pub hotel sales this year to date.

He said there was no sign of any slowdown in pub sales.