The Kospetas family’s Universal Hotel Group has executed a coup in Tempe with acquisition of staunch local the Riverview Hotel.
Situated in Sydney’s inner west, roughly 10 kilometres southwest of the CBD, it features a popular sports bar, bistro, function rooms and 14 pub-style accommodation rooms.
There is no gaming, but Tempe is a green zone with only two pubs. The other is the Tempe Hotel, owned and recently extensively refurbished by Universal.
Achieving a monopoly in the suburb, the family group was drawn to the pub’s commanding visual presence on the Princes Highway, offering it has “amazing bones” they can work with.
“We are still in the process of determining our exact plans for Riverview, but initially we will be focusing on bringing the pub back to life through a light cosmetic refurbishment and reactivating the current layout,” says CEO Harris Kospetas.
“The purchase has synergistic benefits, and provides us the opportunity to expand upon our food, beverage and entertainment offerings in the precinct.”
Currently on a monthly lease trading as Valve Bar, Universal plan to take possession before settlement, paying around $9 million for the ‘blank canvas’ hotel.
Tyche Private Equity (TPE) purchased it in 2016 with plans to redevelop the site into a full accommodation offering. Sale comes with ready plans for an additional 37 motel rooms that also interests Universal.
“We are exploring the possibility of making use of the current DA and building the approved motel, but are yet to determine our next steps forward.”
TPE listed the property in 2023 in a campaign through HTL Property’s Blake Edwards and Sam Handy, and its sale represents the company’s last Sydney pub, amid a positive market outlook.
“Recent tax cuts have been stimulatory, resulting in buoyant trading conditions in many sectors of the market,” offers Edwards, “the result being more transactions and potentially the recommencement of some modest price growth.”
