High hanging fruit has been plucked in Orange’s landmark Hotel Canobolas, sold by the Point Group consortium to Redcape Hospitality, as the MA Financial-backed entity expands in regional hotspots.
Built 1939, the very large-scale three-storey Hotel Canobolas occupies a 4,116sqm site benefiting from 52 metres of prominent frontage in the heart of the Orange CBD, on the Summer Street retail and hospitality strip.
Fondly known by locals as ‘The Nob’ it is widely regarded as one of the most recognisable and physically largest traditional hotels anywhere in Australia.
Its scale is reflected in the multi-department offering, incorporating numerous bar and dining areas, gaming facilities with 17 machines – three leased in, multiple function spaces, expansive courtyard areas and 69 accommodation rooms, 45 of these in use.
And few regional hotels can lay claim to the gravity of its history, as a social centrepiece for Orange and NSW’s broader central west that once hosted an event for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
Annual revenue across diversified departments exceeds $10 million, with 67 per cent being derived from f&b, although the licence has recently been approved for an increase to gaming trading hours.
The sale also comes with an approved DA for a large-scale renovation of the entire building envelope.
The Point Group (TPG) – the rebranded Icebergs Group, headed up by Damien Reed and Deke Miskin, and celebrity chef partner Maurice Terzini – bought the prominent freehold going concern late 2021 in a consortium of private investors led by the Sukkar family, from Buildcorp, Ian Mayer and Anthony Lucisano.
The group paid around $25 million to the vendors, a partnership of hotel king Arthur Laundy with Mark Dalton and Philip Tudor, who had owned it since 2003. TPG brought a vision to give it a “thoughtful facelift” that celebrated its heritage features and identity.
“We purchased the Hotel Canobolas with a commitment to improving the asset and making a positive contribution to the local community,” says TPG CEO Brett Robinson.
“We are proud of the improvements delivered during our ownership and the value created for both the Hotel and the broader Orange community.”
After five years curating the asset, Robinson thanked the Orange community and regulars “and especially our team”.
“Their contribution has helped uphold its iconic legacy as one of the best pubs in the west and we wish Redcape every success as they take the Canobolas into its next chapter.”
TPG still hold several Sydney pubs, including both the Dolphin and Hotel Harry in Surry Hills.
Said to be the most significant sub-metropolitan transaction in Australia to date for 2026, sources suggest Redcape has paid $40 million for its new regional asset.
CEO Chris Unger says hotels of this stature rarely come along and that operators “are fortunate to be able to steward them”.
“We will continue to invest in the pub and deliver an existing development approval that expands the ground floor and accommodation whilst preserving and enhancing the amazing art deco character of this iconic property,” he foretells.
Orange, a major regional city around 255 kilometres west of Sydney, with population of circa 45k residents, has emerged as one of the most economically resilient inland cities in NSW. This is both driven and underpinned by strong industries in agricultural, viticulture, mining, education, healthcare and tourism, and the city continues to benefit from material public and private infrastructure investment.
Early 2023 Jason Marlow sold the similarly very large-format Robin Hood Hotel of Orange to a syndicate fronted by local hoteliers for nearly $50 million, setting a regional price record for NSW.
“Hotel Canobolas will sit neatly in a growing subset of our portfolio along with our other quintessential regional city venues such as Hotel Brunswick, at Brunswick Heads,” explains Unger.
“These venues all share similar attributes in that they are iconic, large format and pivotal to the social dynamic of their growing communities for both locals and tourists alike.”
The off-market sale was conducted by HTL Property’s Andrew Jolliffe and Dan Dragicevich, citing a rare hospitality asset in terms of its size, diversity and genuine landmark status, which “when presented collectively within one property, they create an acquisition opportunity that is almost impossible to replicate” Jolliffe says.
“The Hotel Canobolas is, in our considered view, not simply a pub; rather it is the centrepiece of the Central West hospitality landscape, and an asset whose extraordinary physical scale, historical relevance and commercial importance distinguishes it from almost every other traditional hotel in the country.”
Dragicevich added that transactions such as this are important as they illustrate the depth and sophistication of capital looking at hotel investment, led by experienced and credentialed entities such as Redcape.
“The acquisition of a property of this significance is consistent with the considered manner in which sophisticated hotel groups continue to pursue irreplaceable assets with genuine long-term relevance.”
