Retired rugby star expands his pub portfolio with $36m purchase of Bar Broadway

Sydney’s pub boom is not stopping any time soon and a former sportsman is expanding his empire.

Former Wallaby Bill Young has purchased Bar Broadway in the inner Sydney suburb of Chippendale.

Former Wallaby Bill Young has added to his stable of pubs with the purchase of Bar Broadway in the inner Sydney suburb of Chippendale for about $36m.

The deal sees the well-known publican buy both the freehold and leasehold of the tavern and take on the running of the business, bringing him back to the area.

The former Wallabies front rower in May sold popular Glebe pub the Friend in Hand hotel for about $11m to the private Momento Hospitality. But he has been one of the big buyers in the city‘s pub boom.

Mr Young’s ventures last year included buying and renovations to the Illinois Hotel in Five Dock and purchasing the Royal Hotel in Ryde in Sydney’s northern suburbs from hotelier Patrick Gallagher.

Bar Broadway in the inner Sydney suburb of Chippendale.

The Bar Broadway sale is but the latest in an ongoing wave of pub transactions in which the sector is transforming into one of the hottest asset classes in the country.

Big families are already jockeying for position on The Oaks hotel on Sydney’s north shore which is expected to reap about $175m for owners the Thomas family.

The extraordinary run of pub sales has been driven by a combination of an entertainment industry recovery, strong pokies revenues and a belief that pubs will hold up, even as other kinds of property are slipping.

Pubs are viewed as resilient during recessions and regional pubs have benefited from a search in domestic tourism.

Former Wallaby Bill Young at his Five Docks pub.

The sale was handled by JLL Hotels & Hospitality Group’s John Musca and Ben McDonald, and Knight Frank’s Mike Wheatley, with intense competition for the pub.

The sale brought together the freehold and leasehold interests of the hotel for the first time in nearly two decades, allowing Mr Young to unlock the restapled value of the venue.

Sitting on the doorstep of Sydney’s new Tech Central Precinct, Bar Broadway is set to capitalise on the enormous growth potential of the area with over 250,000sq m of new office space in the pipeline, creating 25,000 innovation jobs in the process.

Atlassian, Dexus, Toga and Frasers are all committed to the precinct with the NSW Government also spending close to $1bn on upgrading Central Station.

JLL’s Ben McDonald highlighted the pub’s location as the key driver. “The compelling precinct growth story and resultant demand for this asset, further demonstrates the unabated capital appetite for this highly protected, intrinsically valuable asset class where the very best located assets deliver perpetual earnings growth unlike any other real estate or business sector,” he said.

The famous Oaks Hotel is rumoured to have drawn strong interest from some significant national family investment houses and the scene is set for more large pub sales.