Two brothers and three mates have taken the plunge with their first pub, beating hungry Sydney operators to buy the Thomas family’s long-held Shenanigans at The Imperial.
Mike Thomas has been a staple of the NSW hotel industry for over three decades, and operated the popular Maitland pub for over twenty years. He purchased it in the mid-90s from another Newcastle pub industry stalwart, John Mahony, after working for him for a number of years.
The Thomas family sold their other pub, the Cessnock Hotel, mid-2016, after Mike’s son moved to the UK. Mike Thomas determined it was time to exit the industry, listing The Imperial in October.
The Hotel was marketed and put to auction through Manenti Quinlan’s Gerry Quinlan and Moore & Moore Real Estate’s Dean Moore. Reaching close to $4m, bids fell just shy of Thomas’ hopes and the asset was passed in, but secured contracts from three serious parties before the end of the day.
In December, swift work by a posse of local businessmen secured the pub, and the newly-formed Imperial Hospitality Group (IHG) took the keys last week. IHG comprises brothers Sean and Clayton Barrett, with mates Cameron Clydsdale, Manny Wade and Matthew Parkinson.
“We’ve been looking for stuff locally,” Sean Barrett told PubTIC. “This came up, and it seemed like a great opportunity.
“We’re still trying to get our heads around it all. I’m living in it for a while first, to see where we can make improvements.
“It was a lot of work to get it over the line, but this is where the work really starts – making sure we do it justice.”
A former Sydney pub manager, Clydsdale is currently operating the pub, and will soon be joined by Clayton Barrett as GM. Sean heads up a currency exchange business he launched in Ireland back in 2009 called Currency Fair. He returned to Australia in 2012 to open an office in Newcastle.
He admits that after 11 years in the Emerald Isle, and plenty of shifts pulling pints behind bars in Dublin and London, an Irish pub did have a special kind of attraction.
“Mike has been great throughout the deal, and the pub is excellent, but I’ve still not had a proper Guinness outside of Ireland!
“The Imperial has good clientele, but we took it on as there are things we think can improve on. A lot of publicans go in and spend a lot of capital, but they might not be pitching to the right crowd.
“At the moment we’re just about servicing customers at least as well as in the past … we’ll see how we can lift the product from there.”
The Maitland area is experiencing sustained growth, largely seen in The Levee – a large planned development area adjacent to the Hunter River offering a range of entertainment and dining options, as well as retail and professional services and small business space. The Levee is around 300 metres from The Imperial.
While the agents wouldn’t be drawn on price or yield, agent Dean Moore said the result was a good one for all – including the locals.
“The Hotel is a good asset. The vendor was happy with the outcome, and the sale represented value for the buyers, who are some local lads with community ties – looking to return to some of their youth in the area.”
Good luck to you lads. You’ll enjoy my old pub and I’m sure you will be a breath of fresh air for “The Impy”.
Best wishes from Mike, Joel and all the Thomas Family.
Yes good luck to all of you , I hope it’s as good for you as it was for the whole Thomas family. You’ve got great staff that will make it easier for you.
From Pety Thomas a owner for a little while.