The Commercial Hotel in the regional Queensland town of Biloela is for sale as a re-stapled freehold going concern, as the publican looks to retirement.
Known locally as the ‘Top Pub’, the Commercial occupies a 1,247sqm site in the heart of town, offering public bar with TAB, sports bar and beer garden, 80-seat bistro, gaming lounge, 22 accommodation rooms and a two-bedroom manager’s flat.
The gaming operation counts 20 Coastal Region entitlements, valued at close to $2.5m as per current prices.
The sale also provides opportunity to purchase an adjoining 622sqm parcel of land.
Biloela is in the Callide Valley, around 630 kilometres north-west of Brisbane. The town records a population of 5,800, while the greater region is home to approximately 14,300 people.
For the past eight years the pub has been run under lease to Peter and Michelle Law, who have begun planning their exit from the industry.
The freehold owner is Michael Lucas, who also owns the Cooee Hotel in New South Wales.
Having held the Commercial title since 2007, Lucas thought the current climate suited listing the freehold also, with a greater return anticipated for the going concern.
“It’s been very good to us,” he says of his tenure in Biloela. “And we’ve been lucky to have had great tenants in Peter and Michelle, but as they look to leave I’m looking to turn my attentions to other opportunities.”
The pub is expecting sale price north of $4 million, representing a strong yield of circa 18.5 per cent for a buyer.
Lucas has engaged HTL Property’s Glenn Price and Brent McCarthy to market the combined asset and potential.
“We’ve been seeing a ‘push to go bush’ by publicans seeking better value,” suggests Price.
The freehold going concern of the Commercial Hotel Biloela is being sold via Expressions of Interest, closing Thursday, 8 July.
