DORE CLOSES ON GREAT SOUTHERN OPPORTUNITY

Berry’s Great Southern Hotel has been sold for $6 million to a consortium fronted by well-known Sydney publican Ged Dore, in another example of the continued strength of NSW’s coastal market.

Dore already owns an enviable portfolio of food & beverage-based pubs in Sydney’s inner west, including the Salisbury Hotel, the Henson Park Hotel and most recently the rebranded Enmore Hotel.

A friend with a house in Berry that had worked with Ged on the Salisbury deal approached him about steering a posse of first-timers in an investment into the Great Southern (GSH).

Raised in the country himself, Dore has been escaping to the Berry-Kiama region for over a decade, often sleeping in his F150 after a visit to 7-mile Beach, appreciating the beauty of the area, within easy reach of Sydney. 

He told the investors he would work with them for at least two years to set the place up, and either stay on as the lessee and part-owner, or leave them to it.

A career publican, Dore says all his managers have worked for him somewhere at some time previously. But few surpass Amy Parkinson, who has been in his employ seven times, at the Beach Road, The Tilbury, The Steyne and most recently at The Salisbury, during which time she met her partner, on a night out at The Henson.

Hearing about the potential Berry acquisition, Parkinson approached him about being licensee.

“I said I don’t think there’s a better person for me on this planet to do this job,” relayed Dore.

Now the mother of two kids, Parkinson is eager to get back to work, and will move to the area, where her mother already lives.

There are plans and budget to immediately execute a strategic renovation and refurbishment, repositioning the existing food and beverage. It already holds a DA to significantly increase the size of the kitchen and beer garden, and add a children’s playground and accommodation rooms.

Dore says they are looking at their options to give it a boost and overcome its shortcomings. He and Parkinson have already met with management and the chefs, who are said to be excited about changes in the air.

With hundreds of thousands of people from Wollongong and Nowra within easy drive of Berry, the thinking is to create a traditional roadhouse, reminiscent of a Saturday or Sunday family drive. It will sport an old-school diner akin to the fabled Golden Fleece restaurants, decked with carvery serving hot roast beef, pork or chicken rolls, and a proper front bar.

The management agreement allows Dore to employ a trusted employee as a full-time operations manager.

“Amy’s going to be amazing down there. It’s very much a blank canvas, and we’ll take our time to work out what’s needed.

“It’s worked out really well. I’ve been very fortunate with staff; I think it’s a case of being definitely people first and business second. It’s been a year of many surprises, and thanks to lots of people I seem to be doing alright.”

The vendors were the private Coombs family, who purchased it nearly a decade ago for $2.7 million, and have built the business into something for the local community.

“We sell the Great Southern Hotel with a heavy heart, but do so in the knowledge that we’re leaving the business in a significantly better position than when we arrived some nine years ago,” offered Roger Coombs.

The sale was through HTL Property’s Sam Handy and Dan Dragicevich, representing the second time Handy has sold the hotel, and adding to HTL’s recent deals in the region, including the North Nowra Tavern for $12m and Shell Cove Tavern  for $6.5m. Agents report “a number of qualified under-bidders” on the GSH.

“The town’s amenity has markedly improved with the implementation of the Berry bypass, and locals and tourists alike should be really encouraged by the prospect of someone of Ged’s calibre coming in to further build upon the business,” said Handy.

Already juggling a trio in Sydney and not actively looking to build the portfolio further yet, Dore said he entered the partnership with clear requirements in mind.

“I wanted them to understand that if it comes to opportunity, it will always be the pub and community first for me, and making money second. I do think one follows the other, you just have to be patient.

“If you want to invest in something I think over time I can make a cracking hotel, come for the ride.

“I love the area. It’s going to be fun.”