Veteran hotelier and very long-term owner Bruce Hedditch has sold his Orange Grove Hotel in thriving Lilyfield to industry newcomers.
The OG Hotel stands on a substantial 934sqm corner of Balmain Rd, which it has occupied since 1959, since it is believed to have been moved from its previous site, around 100 metres’ away.
It offers a sports bar with TAB and Keno, bistro and commercial kitchen, gaming room with 12 machines, 12 accommodation rooms and a manager’s residence, and an over-the-bar bottleshop.
Where it stands is close to the popular Orange Grove Markets, and historic Leichhardt Oval – home of the West Tigers – and the hotel benefits from the thousands of annual visitors to the sports ground to attend NRL, rugby union and community events.
Lilyfield is around five kilometres west of the Sydney CBD, between inner west hubs Balmain and Leichhardt, and serviced by extensive infrastructure works in the area, bringing the Light Rail network, City West Link and updates for Lilyfield Road.
Inner West Council’s Fairer Future for the Inner West plans propose a framework to deliver higher-density, transit-oriented housing, which significantly increases the Orange Grove’s redevelopment potential, being a candidate for a high-density development (STCA).
Details of the transaction were not provided, but the buyer is understood to be the McDowell family, who have formed McDowell Projects and McDowell Properties No.1 opco and propco for the acquisition and are believed to have paid around $9 million for the freehold going concern.
Finding himself 80 years young, Hedditch put the pub up for sale for the first time in four decades, the Queensland-based veteran having run it under management.
Hedditch was also parting with his beloved Larrikin, after 20 years of operation, which found a buyer and settled earlier this year.
Both sales were negotiated by Savills’ Leon Alaban and Drew Mitchell.
“The strong level of buyer interest reflects the ongoing demand for well-located metropolitan pubs with both operational upside and underlying land value,” says Alaban.
“Assets of this calibre, particularly within Sydney’s Inner West, continue to attract a broad spectrum of investors.”
The McDowell family was contacted for comment but did not respond in time for publication.
