Generational hoteliers the Bayfields have taken the expansive Royal Hotel in Wyong from a syndicate of Frank Arangio and Pat Gurr, as the region’s appeal increasingly reflects its proximity to Sydney.
The Royal overlooks arterial thoroughfare the Pacific Highway, adjacent to Wyong Train Station and the town’s main commercial and retail precinct. Its extensive footprint, on a 3,537sqm lot, incorporates multiple bar and dining areas plus commercial kitchen, gaming facilities with 15 machines (entitlements), 14 accommodation rooms – 10 with ensuites, and onsite parking.
Frank Arangio worked for decades with Lion. In 2017 he and his wife Marney McQueen jumped the bar into pub ownership in partnership with veteran and former AHA Vice President Pat Gurr, buying the Royal.
In the decade since, they have curated and invested, expanding the trading area three times and investing over $5 million into the property, bringing new and upgraded bars, gaming, dining and accommodation areas, and culminating with the $2 million Riverdeck development, in 2025
Planning to relocate to Melbourne to be near Marney’s family, Arangio joined Gurr and listed the freehold going concern in August, citing “significant growth” across all departments and weekly revenue greater than $150k, with further organic growth anticipated.
“Marney and I have thoroughly enjoyed our time in Wyong and are happy that it has sold to another family-run business in the Bayfield’s, who we know will be great custodians of the Hotel into the future,” says Frank.
Zoned predominantly E2 Commercial Centre, the large property lends itself to a broad range of permissible uses and marketing literature noted it would be better suited to a group, sharing costs and resources.
Wyong is a key regional centre and hub for employment, commerce, healthcare and education in the northern central coast’s broader population of more than 345k residents, boasting direct connectivity to Sydney and Newcastle via the M1 and railway.
Significant public and private investment is shaping the region, heralding thousands of new dwellings and tens of thousands of new residents, as Wyong Town Centre sees the fruits of the $488 million Pacific Highway upgrade.
Bayfield Hotel Group has been the dominant operator on Sydney’s Northern Beaches for decades, holding iconic properties such as the Dee Why Hotel, Belrose Hotel, and previously the Newport Arms. Ironically, Wyong is geographically closer to their home base than is the Sydney CBD.
The group is believed to have paid circa $22 million for the new digs, which will likely profit from the portfolio scale.
“Frank and Marney have done a fantastic job building the pub into what it is today, and we’re delighted to be taking it on,” Kaine Bayfield told PubTIC.
“It’s a great pub with a strong focus on locals, community and family, which aligns perfectly with our approach to hospitality.
“We’re acquiring a well-established business that’s in great shape, and our focus is on building on the success Frank and Marney have created while continuing to make it a place the local community can be proud of.”
The transaction was brokered by HTL Property’s Dan Dragicevich, Andrew Jolliffe and Blake Edwards, furthering the more than $165 million in transactions in the region over the last 12 months.
These have included Arthur Laundy buying Harvest’s Woy Woy Hotel in April, and big plays by Redcape, buying the Thomas family’s Entrance Social Club Hotel for c$36 million in May, Iris’ Hunter Valley portfolio of five pubs and a QT Hotel in July, and this month picking up the Caves Beach Hotel and bungalows from Oscars for $40 million.
Speaking of the activity, Dragicevich says the region is one of NSW’s best-performing non-metro hotel markets.
“From a pub investment perspective, the Central Coast is treated as an extension of Sydney, which this acquisition by the well-known Northern Beaches-based Bayfield family underscores.”
