Chris Cornforth and Fraser Haughton’s unlisted pub fund Harvest Hotels continues to expand its regional footprint, through acquisition of the Milestone Hotel in Dubbo from the Blair family.
Built 1881 on a corner site in the heart of the Dubbo CBD, the classic heritage-listed Hotel is a welcoming local, offering public bar, bistro, gaming facilities with 29 machines, function spaces, and a boutique bottleshop stocking an extensive range of fine wines, spirits, and beer.
It has been sold for a reported $15 million by long-term private owners Joanne and Neville Blair, who have been active stalwarts of the NSW hotel industry for decades. Neville was formerly Chairman of ILG.
Cornforth and Haughton’s Harvest is a regionally-focussed group aiming to operate “the very best pubs in the best regional towns”. To this end to date they have collected venues in various corners of the state, including the newly refurbished and reopened Courthouse Hotel, in Tamworth and newly acquired Brady’s Railway Hotel in Albury.
“Dubbo is one of the major hubs for the central and north-west of NSW, and it has so much to offer its locals, surrounding communities and visitors,” says Haughton.
“We look forward to becoming a part of Dubbo and the broader region as we take over the reins of The Milestone.”
Harvest took the keys this week and says the Milestone will continue to operate the venue as it is, ahead of plans in the near future to refresh and develop.
“The Blair family have done an outstanding job owning and operating The Milestone for a number of years. We look forward to further building on this great venue and adding a few Harvest touches.
“More and more we are seeing people increase the value they put on high-quality food and beverage experiences, and just because they aren’t in a major city, doesn’t mean that those who live, work, play and visit regional communities should settle for anything less.”
The transaction was brokered through JLL Hotels’ Kate MacDonald in conjunction with Knight Frank’s Mike Wheatley.
“After many years as a mixed-use property, the pub was fully restored by the [Blair] family in 2005 and has become a favourite in Dubbo, one of the strongest regional towns in NSW,” notes MacDonald.
“The acquisition further highlights the ongoing confidence in the regional pub market, where despite contracting yields, the appetite to obtain assets in unprecedented growth regions remains high.”
