A trophy pub in the centre of Sydney’s CBD, has sold for circa $40m with the selling agents, JLL Hotels & Hospitality Group and Savills Australia & New Zealand describing the sale as one of the most significant pub sales thus far in 2023. 

Located in arguably the most desirable ‘A grade’ pocket of the Sydney CBD, the iconic freehold pub was sold on behalf of a Singaporean Investment Trust which acquired the asset in October 2017 from Patrick Ryan and family.

The hotel allows for trading across four floors including public bar and gaming room with 28 gaming machine entitlements on the ground floor, Republic Dining on the first floor, conference and events facilities on the second floor and the highly acclaimed Taylor’s Rooftop Bar. The pub is one of the city’s most sought-after Sydney CBD freehold hotels with the demand during the sales process a testament to the flight to quality during any economic climate. 

Nick Lower, State Director, Hotels at Savills Australia & New Zealand said, “The sale of the Republic Hotel demonstrates the continued demand of well trading pub assets that benefit from strong underlying real estate.”

“As one of 2023’s most significant core Sydney CBD transactions, along with being one of the most well known trophy assets in the pub sector, this successful result shows that there is still considerable demand in the market.”

Approximately $2.2bn in pub transactions were facilitated in 2022 with NSW contributing in excess of $1.8bn of this figure. This is due in part to a number of contributing factors, including the robust trading performance of hotels and the tightening of asset supply, as well as a diminishing supply of gaming machine entitlements.

Ben McDonald, Executive Vice President, JLL Hotels said, “The sale of the Republic Hotel exemplifies the allure of prime pub assets and their continued appeal to a varied investor base including private operators, syndicated capital and more traditional real estate investors. An unmatched location, historic trade performance and boutique nature of the building made it a truly exceptional opportunity for the purchaser, seeking long-term value in a world class CBD location.” 

"This transaction speaks to the enduring appeal of pubs that hold a unique place in the urban fabric of the Sydney CBD," Mr McDonald concluded.

The Republic Hotel was sold to diversified property group, Virtical, seeking to capitalise on the strong underlying attributes of the asset including its CBD core location, exceptional 5am trading approval, 28 gaming machines entitlements and growing revenue profile set to benefit from the hotel’s proximity to a broad scope of real estate development activity.