The iconic ‘Pub With No Beer’ – aka Lee’s Hotel – is being sold as a freehold going concern for the first time in 50 years.
The pub immortalised in legendary country singer Slim Dusty’s song is in the town of Ingham, between Townsville and Cairns. It was established in 1845 as the Day Dawn Hotel.
According to the legend, in late 1943 US troops en-route to Port Moresby stopped in Ingham for a night and drank the pub out of beer. The next day local farmer Dan Sheahan rode his horse 30km into town for a cold one, only to be told the pub had no beer to sell.
He is believed to have opined the poem that inspired the song over a reluctant glass of red wine.
Years later Slim Dusty wrote the song, which became one of his biggest hits. He acknowledged Sheahan as the author of the poem that prompted the song, and after visiting Ingham the pair wrote other songs together.
Three years after the song was released, in 1960, the name of the pub was changed to Lee’s Hotel.
It provides guests a main bar, TAB and Keno, spacious bistro, 10 gaming machines, a new covered beer garden, and 20 renovated accommodation rooms with ensuites.
The business incorporates a long-standing month-to-month tenancy to a hair salon, and a fashion retail outlet with 27 years remaining on a lease. Rent at both is indexed to CPI.
Another tenancy, formerly a menswear outlet, is currently vacant, with potential for a new bottleshop.
The Hotel has transformed itself over the years, beyond getting more beer. It previously sported a function space used for ballroom dancing, but the area was converted into what is now the popular Herbert Valley Steakhouse, which was a Best Regional Restaurant finalist in the QHA Awards for Excellence.
Vendors on the sale are the freehold owner, Shane Punton, who reputedly bought Lee’s after learning it was the true ‘Pub With No Beer’ – whilst drinking in the controversial NSW claimant to the title – alongside publican leaseholder Glen Connell, who has worked in pubs since the age of 13.
Connell is looking to pursue another project in north Queensland, and the pair agreed to list the restapled asset as a freehold going concern.
“Makes grown men write poems, and people write hit songs about it, so you put a price on that,” he suggested to 9News.
The mixed business is projected to generate net profit for FY21 of $521k, and comes with a price tag of $3.485 million, representing a 15 per cent yield.
It is being sold through Tourism Brokers’ Antonio Curulli, who confirmed it has been a long time since Lee’s ran dry and a buyer will indeed “get the beer as well”.
“The pub – which now has plenty of beer, accommodation and three retail shops – provides an excellent opportunity to invest in a piece of Australian history and secure a high-yielding return on one’s investment.”
Curulli anticipates interest from strong Queensland groups looking to secure a trophy asset, as well as cashed-up individuals or entities enticed by the prospect of owning an Australian icon.
