Geoff and Mal’s promise-offering Anglers Rest Hotel in Brooklyn has come firmly to market, as the gents decide it is finally time to call time.
Following a kick of the tyres last year, with Geoff Watts pondering what came next, he and business partner Mal McKellar have listed their long-held watering hole with price expectations circa $4.5 million.
Anglers lazes on a large 1,221sqm block on the beachfront of picturesque Brooklyn, on the Hawkesbury River, roughly halfway between Sydney and the Central Coast. The area is popular for boating and tourism, featuring a boat ramp, several marinas and related businesses.
Watts and McKellar became publicans for the first time when they bought the pub in 1985. They have owner-operated it ever since, welcoming a strong base of loyal locals, Pittwater residents cruising the waters, day visitors and passing Pacific Highway travellers.
The pub features a bar, bistro, multiple large outdoor courtyards, gaming room with eight EGM entitlements, and eight accommodation rooms.
Weekly revenue is reported at $33k, although the gaming operation holds old hardware and no TITO or CRT, and the bistro is currently leased out to a contractor.
Beyond the Hotel itself, there is also the option to purchase an adjacent block of land of 1,319sqm, and both areas possess 12-metre height limit, adding development opportunity.
Watts and McKellar have engaged HTL Property directors Blake Edwards and Sam Handy to spruik the asset and potential, pointing to the success of proximate operations such as the Patonga Beach Hotel, Cottage Point Inn and Berowra Waters Inn as having found success pitching a more upmarket offering, particularly on the menu, to day trippers and weekend trade.
“One of the most compelling aspects of this offering is the ability for the incoming owner to take back the food operation and recapture some of the revenue and profit that is currently walking out the door,” suggests Handy.
“The Anglers Rest represents a unique opportunity to buy a lifestyle asset in an idyllic location that makes strong commercial sense and offers genuine potential upside.”
The freehold going concern is being sold via an Expressions of Interest campaign, closing 25 March.
