‘Priscilla’s pub’ changes hands as hotel trade recovers

The sale of the beloved Sydney venue is part of a wave of deals as laws on pokies machines are settled.

Riot (left) and and Felicity Frockaccino pose for a photo at the Imperial Hotel, which has been sold. (AAP IMAGE/ Danny Aarons)

The Imperial Hotel in Sydney’s inner city Erskineville, which featured on the big screen in The Adventures Of Priscilla, Queen Of The Desert, has been sold to Sydney pub group Universal Hotels.

The hotel has flown a rainbow banner in support of Pride and LGBTQIA+ rights for more than three decades and was done up in early 2018 just ahead of Sydney’s Mardi Gras festival.

The pub was sold for an undisclosed sum by Sydney Collective’s Fraser Short and Australian Hotels Association NSW president Scott Leach.

Built in 1880, the iconic Imperial Hotel is a local favourite and has attracted a stream of visitors since the iconic 1994 movie when it became known as the birthplace of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert.

The Imperial Hotel has enjoyed a rich and colourful history since the two well-known publicans rescued the hotel from closure in 2015. They won local community support for a significant renovation costing about $6m and the successful relaunch after they bought it for about $6,5m eight years ago.

The hotel buyer, Universal Hotels, is owned and operated by the Kospetas family, who have substantial interests in the Sydney hotel scene. Its venues include high-profile watering holes the Newtown Hotel, the Civic Hotel and the Crown Hotel in Surry Hills, as well as other popular LGBTQIA+ venues, The Riley, Oxford Hotel, and Universal, all of which are on Sydney’s Oxford Street.

Universal Hotels chief executive Harris Kospetas said that “the opportunity to transact on the Imperial was one in which we believed had great synergy with our group of venues”.

“We have a strong connection with the LGBTQIA+ community and are very excited about the next chapter for the venue,” he said.

Mr Kospetas said that “the acquisition fits our strategy of acquiring outstanding assets, where our operational and geographical synergies can unlock value”.

JLL senior vice president, Kate MacDonald negotiated the sale on behalf of the vendors and noted confidence in the future of the hotels’ operation.

“This is a natural addition to the Universal Hotels portfolio as they continue to invest in venues with strong and diverse income streams, many of which rely on entertainment as a key business driver,” she said.

“The Kospetas family and their incredibly capable team will provide the Erskineville community with the same good vibes as they have done all over Sydney for more than two decades,” she said.

The pub market all but stalled ahead of the NSW state election but it is now surging as the threat of strict anti-pokies rules proposed by former premier Dominic Perrottet has been replaced with a softer approach from the Minns government.