Belmore Hotel in regional NSW sells for $9 million
In what is one of the largest regional New South Wales pub transactions for 2017, the Belmore Hotel in Maitland has been sold to a local businessman for $9 million.
The Belmore Hotel is in the Hunter Valley Tourism Precinct, and at the 2011 Census was determined New South Wales’ fastest growing inland Urban Centre.
The hotel has several bars, a bistro, gaming room with 19 EGMs, 18 pub rooms and a large outdoor beer garden with diversified weekly revenue of approximately $100,000 per week.
The selling agents were Ray White’s Blake Edwards, Andrew Jolliffe and Xavier Plunkett, who sold it on behalf of long-time owners the Murphy family.
Having indicated that their investment focus is shifting, and after 14 years in the hospitality industry, the Murphy family felt like it was the right time to divest the asset.
"We've owned the hotel since 2003, and since then we have all grown older and want to do a bit more of our own thing" said Luke Murphy.
"We still have development interests in the area, which we will now shift our focus onto.”
Last year too, Ray White sold a hotel in Maitland to a Sydney hotel group for a record Hunter Region price of around $11 million.
"Particularly given the quality of the offerings we are showcasing at our May 31 auctions in the form of Maitland CBD's outstanding Belmore Hotel.
Commenting upon the various demand drivers for the high level of interest in the sale process for the Belmore Hotel, Edwards said the property benefited from a number of business and property positives.
"Strategically, the well-structured nature of the hotel operation on offer at the Belmore Hotel made sense for our purchaser," Edwards said.
"Although it may sound cliché, it all comes back to the basic investment fundamentals, including strong population growth, a familiarity with the local area, close proximity to a large base of both white and blue collar industries and a distinct absence of large scale competition in the immediate area."
Jolliffe said he expects the regional market to maintain its current trajectory, and market depth, given the limited opportunity in metro areas; as well as the growth of commercial and residential markets in regional centres.
