Craig's Royal Hotel Ballarat sold for $12 million
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Craig's Royal Hotel Ballarat sold for $12 million
The historic Craig's Royal Hotel Ballarat sold to Black Rhino Group for more than $12 million JLL’s Hotels and Hospitality Vice-President Will Connolly.
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JLL Hotels and HospitalityCraig's Royal Hotel in Ballarat.
The Black Rhino Group has added to its growing pub portfolio, buying the historic Craig’s Royal Hotel in Ballarat for more than $12 million.
The group already owns 14 hotels including the Railway Club Hotel in Seymour, the Victoria Hotel in Shepparton with the group’s remaining 12 pubs dotted throughout suburban Melbourne including the Richmond Social in Swan St, Richmond, the Hampton Park Tavern, the Ivanhoe Hotel, the Royal Oak Hotel in Cheltenham and the Waterloo Cup Hotel in Moonee Ponds.
Black Rhino Group Director Dave Tomsic said the acquisition of the hotel was a strategic play.
JLL’s Hotels and Hospitality Vice-President Will Connolly, who brokered the deal, told WILLIAMS MEDIA it was one the most significant sales to happen in regional Victoria for many years.
"It is great to see that businesses such as Black Rhino see the potential and in this case a meticulously renovated hotel that really offers a time stamp of a bygone era," he said.
“As you can imagine there was a lot of interest for a hotel with such a rich history and an extensive multi-million-dollar restoration.
The Reading Room. Source: JLL
“Not only does Craig’s Royal offer arguably Victoria’s most elegant boutique accommodation, but it also a business that provides a foundation of gaming income generated by 45 EGMs.”
Built in the heady days of the Victorian gold rush of the 1850s, the hotel’s history of visitors is littered with a who’s who of celebrities, royalty, prime ministers and well-known identities, including a visit in 1896 by American novelist Mark Twain who described it as “the pride of Ballarat”.
The hotel’s owners John and Mary Finning, who bought the property in 1999, decided to put the hotel on the market after owning it for two decades.
They will retain their other hotel interest, The Settlement hotel in Cranbourne.
The Gallery and Dining Room. Source: JLL
“It’s hard to see it go, but I am sure Dave and his team at the Black Rhino Group will enjoy it as much as we did,” Mr Finning said.
The hotel has played an integral role in Ballarat’s history and cultural life since being built in 1853. As the first hotel in Ballarat to be granted a liquor license it quickly became the centre of Ballarat to cope with the influx of gold prospectors looking to find their fortune.
The hotel has undergone several additions, modifications and renovations during its 167-year history, although none more so than by Mr Finning.
From 2003 to 2010, the hotel underwent its largest renovation in a multi-million-dollar redevelopment. The interior was transformed which included gutting and rebuilding the accommodation to create 37 boutique rooms, developing the highly acclaimed restaurant The Gallery and revamping all the function rooms.
The hotel offers a diverse collection of restaurants, bars, function rooms and lounges including the multi-award-winning The Gallery restaurant, as well as Craig’s Café, the Foyer Lounge, Craig’s Bar and 45 gaming machines.
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