Australian Venue Co has signed for more Solotel pubs, taking Surry Hills institution The Clock and Newtown staple The Bank in the latest investor-backed deal in Sydney’s highly active market.
Amalgamated Hotels P/L, freehold owner of the pubs, was founded by director and Solotel founder Bruce Solomon and also counts Fairfax family associate Lee Thomas as a director. The investment vehicle acquired the venues in 2000 and Solotel has operated them since, under management agreement.
Looking to reduce its pub holdings Amalgamated has sent several operated by Solotel to market this year, including The Bank, The Clock and the Sackville Hotel in Rozelle, as vacant possessions.
This month Merivale emerged as buyer for The Sackville, for close to $50 million.
Earlier this year AVC acquired four Solotel leaseholds in a deal reported to be north of $50 million, bringing The Erko in Erskineville, Public House in Petersham, Barangaroo House and the mighty Golden Sheaf in Double Bay into the ever-expanding stable, which has in the past year come to total 255 venues across Australia and New Zealand.
And as the three additional pubs came to market, Solotel bought the freehold of its Courthouse Hotel in Newtown for $24 million and negotiated a lease on the operation to AVC.
Established in 1863, The Clock is an institution of Surry Hills’ Crown Street that does a thriving trade in f&b, while also offering gaming with 10 machines and a bottleshop. It benefits from its proximity to Central Station, Tech Central, and the Moore Park entertainment precinct.
The Bank was established in 1880. Equipped with a 24-hour liquor licence, bolstered by Newtown’s designation as a Special Entertainment Precinct, and set on a prime location at Newtown Station, it capitalises on 16k daily commuters and its proximity to the University of Sydney and Royal Prince Alfred Hospital.
Partnering again with AVC in the opco-propco purchase is Charter Hall. The joint entities are understood to have paid $91 million for the two new assets.
AVC is Australia’s second-largest hotel operator and this month posted strong results from FY26 detailing a significant rise in revenue and earnings.
CEO Paul Waterson says they are aiming to add around 25 pubs to the collection each year, and continue to invest capex in existing operations. According to Waterson over half of AVC’s pubs are more than 100 years old, and The Clock and The Bank “certainly fit that profile”.
Group CEO Elliot Solomon says Solotel is paving the way for a “clearer path forward” and transitioning to a “smaller, sharper” outfit led by the family.
“With these changes, the next chapter of Solotel is more clearly defined – a focused group of family-owned pubs, bars and restaurants. We are now in a strong position to build a more focused business with greater ownership of its future.”
Sale of the Solotel-Amalgamated hotels was through JLL Hotels’ John Musca, Ben McDonald and Kate MacDonald, who note the “fundamentally different but equally compelling” hospitality environments of Crown Street and King Street, embracing lifestyle, urban density and entertainment culture, and the increasing proliferation of investor-backed operations.
“The partnership between Australian Venue Co and institutional property capital represents a growing investment model in the hospitality sector, combining operational expertise with long-term real estate ownership to maximise both trading performance and asset value appreciation,” says Musca.
