Regionally focussed hotel owners and operators, Harvest Hotels is increasing its investment in the Riverina, acquiring Wagga Wagga’s prime-positioned CBD pub, The Victoria Hotel.

“The Vic” joins The William Farrer Hotel as Harvests’ second investment in the region, with Directors Chris Cornforth and Fraser Haughton saying, “we’ve loved getting to know the locals, other business operators, community groups and the wider Wagga region since taking over The Farrer in mid-21.”

Located on Baylis Street, the large format pub features a separate cocktail bar known as The Loft on the building’s first floor, a public bar with TAB and viewing facilities, an undercover beer garden and popular bistro for diners.

Operating venues across regional NSW since 2014, Chris and Fraser explained, “Wagga is such a major service centre and is continuously evolving as more and more people, businesses and industries shift towards regional areas. We see a lot of opportunity and growth in this region which gives us confidence to invest further in Wagga, and we hope we can add value to the community and its growing social and hospitality scene.”

Brokered by HTL’s Sam Handy, the $29million sale of The Vic is the third acquisition to be made by Harvests’ second pub Fund which took over both The Woy Woy Hotel, Woy Woy and The Northside Hotel, Albury in December 2021. The Vic will bring Harvests’ current portfolio to a total of seven high quality regional pub assets.

Harvest will take over The Vic from Waratah Hotel Group on Monday 23 May 2022 with some capital improvements planned.

“The Waratah Group has operated the pub exceptionally well for a number of years. It’s a staple of the town, and we eager to keep building on the quality work they’ve done to date,” said Chris and Fraser. 

“The Vic is an institution in Wagga – be it for a quick lunch, a cold schooner after work, a cocktail of a weekend or a night out with your mates. It is a great pub with a fun atmosphere, and we look forward to working with the team to create iconic pub experiences right in the heart of Wagga.”

The sale of The Vic is only weeks after setting the regional record sale for a hotel in NSW in the form of Wagga Wagga’s Thomas Blamey Hotel, HTL Property confirmed the sale of Wagga Wagga’s hugely popular Victoria Hotel at a now new record price point of $29m.

The sale of the stately Victoria Hotel was conducted by HTL’s Sam Handy on behalf of client Waratah Fund.

Both funds (Waratah and Harvest) have been predominantly focused on acquiring the best regional pubs in the strongest regional towns across NSW.

Waratah Fund have owned the Victoria Hotel for over 15 years and during which time have received numerous unsolicited approaches to sell the business.

Consistent with our recent divestment of the Amaroo Tavern in Moree, we recognise the strong demand and limited supply for quality regional hotel assets across New South Wales" advised Waratah Funds Management Director, Darren Baker.

The Victoria Hotel occupies an imposing 1,311 sqm landholding at the gateway of the Wagga Wagga CBD. It is one of regional New South Wales strongest performing hotels with annual revenues in excess of $10.5 million across bar, bistro, gaming, wagering and accommodation.

The business features a 3am liquor licence with 28 valuable gaming machine licences attached; and consistently ranks around #250 on the state's quarterly gaming rankings report.

The Victoria Hotel is surrounded by some of the State’s best performing regional gaming hotels in the form of the nearby Farmers Home Hotel (#151), Kooringal Hotel (#162) and Turvey Tavern (#203).

"This famous hotel enjoys a price point commensurate with the prime position and robust history of revenue generation it so clearly promotes” commented HTL Property Director, Sam Handy.

As a firm, we’ve been fortunate to win engagement to sell a number of Wagga Wagga’s significant hotel assets, and the buy-side appetite for product in this region bares testimony to its economic strength and stability” Handy added.

Having recently purchased the Northside Hotel in Albury from HTL’s Blake Edwards, Harvest Hospitality are adding the Victoria Hotel to a growing portfolio of A grade regional assets.

“The Waratah Fund has operated the pub really well for a number of years. It’s a staple of the town, and we look forward to picking up some of the quality work they’ve done to date” advised Chris Cornforth and business partner Fraser Houghton.

"The Vic is an institution in Wagga – be it for a quick lunch, a cold schooner after work, a cocktail of a weekend or a night out with your mates. It is a great pub with a fun atmosphere, and we look forward to working with its team to create iconic pub experiences right in the heart of Wagga” Cornforth added.

HTL Property has managed the sale of 38 regional hotel assets in the past 12 months, and believes market depth remains fertile for this highly sought after asset class.

“We see well funded metro and sub metro investors looking to regional areas across Australia for investment opportunities that exhibit all the fundamentals offered by city based hotel operations” advised HTL Property National Director, Dan Dragicevich.

"This patent investment behaviour will survive increased international travel, because regional centres are typically charting both economic and population based growth trajectories” Dragicevich concluded.

The sale of the Victoria Hotel follows a strong run of recent and large format regional hotel sale announcements by leading agency HTL Property, including the Thomas Blamey Hotel - Wagga Wagga ($25m), Northside Hotel - Albury ($19m), Springdale Heights Tavern - Albury ($22m) and the Robin Hood Hotel - Orange ($19m

To request a sales analysis please contact the selling agent HTL’s Sam Handy via the below contact details.

To find out more about Harvest Hotels visit www.harvesthotels.com.au

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