Tilley & Wills have divested their large-format Richmond Inn Hotel to a local ‘Lion’ as the intrepid operators forge north.
Popularly known as the Ricky Inn, the historic suburban hotel was built 1864, occupying a 2,996sqm corner opposite the train station, in Richmond’s main commercial and retail precinct.
It provides public bar and wagering, commercial kitchen and bistro, gaming room with 17 machines, and accommodation, with a 3am liquor licence.
Simon Tilley and Nick Wills’ group bought the big pub mid-2021 from a private partnership of long-term owners and undertook an extensive renovation and refurbishment, aiming to reposition as more family-friendly, expanding the outdoor areas and ramping up the food offering.
The pair dispatched Ricky to market reporting more than $6 million in annual revenue, with expectations of a sale price of around $18 million.
The group had taken possession of the Prince Consort in Fortitude Valley, and purchased the nearby Shafston Hotel from Redcape, and Tilley posed that it would be “prudent to first liberate some equity” as reason behind the sale.
“It was a difficult decision for us to sell given how good the local community has been to us during our tenure,” furthers Wills, group CEO.
“However, as a group we are continually looking for new and scalable opportunities in bigger markets, and in particular South-East Queensland, which has been very good for us, so we will continue to assess opportunities up there.”
Stepping in to fill the big shoes is experienced and devoted local operator Luke ‘Lionheart’ Ainscough, who made headlines in 2021 – whilst in the process of selling his regional landmark Clarendon Hotel, on Hawkesbury Valley Way – by flying his helicopter around the flooded Hawkesbury River, saving people and livestock.
“I grew up in the Hawkesbury, it’s my home, I love both it and the people,” says Ainscough.
“All I want is a venue for locals, which is owned and operated by a local.”
Richmond’s Inn features both the largest trading footprint and latest liquor licence, in a region of ongoing population growth, driven by the 180-ha Redbank North Richmond master planned community. Hawkesbury’s Lion says he plans to keep reinvesting in his passion.
“We’re currently planning on installing new kids’ play equipment so that families feel more comfortable, and we will be working on other exciting changes in the future,” he adds.
The sale campaign through HTL Property’s Dan Dragicevich, Sam Handy and Blake Edwards reportedly generated interest from a broad range of industry buyer types.
“Despite its seasonally climatic challenges the Hawkesbury region continues to attract market interest, given its pub-friendly demography and population growth story,” offered Handy.
Bookmarking a run of sales as 2024 winds down, agents say they are “continually working” with both expanding established groups and new entrants looking to the sector, suggesting this “speaks to the resilience” of the asset class.
“Our view is that the next 12 months will see continued transactional activity as expanding Hotel groups continue to emerge and established operators look to refine and rebalance their respective portfolios,” Dragicevich says.
