Pub records smashed as Crossroads Hotel in Casula sells for almost $160m

The roaring pub sector has again proven its worth with close to $200m worth of pubs changing hands in just days.

The Crossroads Hotel in Casula has been sold to former Sydney lord mayor Nelson Meers for close to $160m. Picture: Richard Dobson

The roaring pub sector has again proven its worth with close to $200m worth of pubs changing hands in just days with the sale of the Crossroads Hotel in Sydney’s southwestern suburb of Casula for nearly $160m, smashing the national pub sale record.

The purchase by former Sydney lord mayor Nelson Meers shows both the extraordinary leap in pub values but also signals that experienced operators keep paying out for the best properties.

The sale by long-time owners the Macdonald family was a record for an individual pub property, smashing through a barrier set two years ago when a Moelis fund picked up the Beach Hotel in Byron Bay for $104m.

There have been several other massive sales since that time and more are being negotiated with local money driving the large deals.

Pubs came through the pandemic stronger as they still generated sales from bottle shops, and also bounced back quickly on the back of exceptional domestic trade, unimpeded by uncertain borders and difficulties in travelling.

The predictable income streams from alcohol and gaming, to the possibility of redeveloping one of the massive land blocks, are drawing buyers.

Mr Meers is a veteran pub owner with an empire focused on western Sydney. The Crossroads Hotel deal was brokered off-market by agents Andrew Jolliffe and Dan Dragicevich of HTL Property.

The pub has a mix of food, beverage, accommodation and gaming revenues and is in a fast growing area that is set to benefit from the Badgerys Creek Creek airport.

“This is a key strategic acquisition for our company, with the hotel’s highly successful food and beverage model serving over 4000 dining experiences each week,” Nelson Meers Group chief executive Simon Meers said.

“We are very excited to continue to serve this growing, vibrant and broad community as we look to expand this type of high quality offering across our hotel network.”

Other big recent sales include David Gyngell’s Hotel Brunswick and the Stanford family’s Vineyard Hotel.

“The materiality of the Crossroads Hotel sale recalibrates values across the national hotel landscape, and promotes a momentum that will see up to $1bn worth of sales concluded in the last quarter of this financial year alone,” HTL Property’s Mr Jolliffe said.

Elsewhere in NSW the private Don Hodge Group Inc, a family business spanning hotels, trucking and aviation, has snapped up the Lake Macquarie Tavern in Mount Hutton, NSW, for $33m.

The business, now run by second generation Don Hodge Jr, also counts the nearby Belmont and Warners Bay Hotel among assets in its vast hotel portfolio.

The pub was sold by industry identities, Paul Crosbie and Bob Warren, via JLL Hotels & Hospitality Group and Moore & Moore Real Estate.

JLL Hotels’ Ben McDonald said the deal highlighted the reservoir of untapped potential in the asset as a key driver of the sale price.

With the big buyers out in force the industry is tipping more records will tumble.