Publican battler Patrick Henderson has sold his rescued Australian to first-time owner and beer veteran Jackson Quinn.
The Australian Hotel Ballina stands on a generous block on a prominent main street corner of the Northern Rivers town, proximate to Byron Bay and Lennox Head, near the Queensland border. The pub offers a main public bar, bistro, gaming with 12 EGMs, big beer garden and 18 accommodation rooms.
Henderson acquired the property in 2013. In 2016 it suffered a significant fire, started in a rear alcove by a homeless man. Insurance subsequently paid for repairs, with upgrades to the kitchen, beer garden, and gaming hardware.
Having rebuilt the structure and business, Henderson listed the property for sale by Private Treaty, showing revenue (FY18) of $2.13 million.
Quinn has spent plenty of time in pubs, on both sides of the bar and more recently as a sales rep for CUB. Eyeing the opportunity, he called on partner investors, mostly family, to negotiate purchase of the big Ballina Aussie for $4 million, through HTL Property’s Blake Edwards and Glenn Price.
The successful sale sees Quinn relocate to Ballina with his wife and young family.
“After 11 years in hospitality working for large-format venues and a leading brewery, we both knew we were looking to escape the Sydney rat race and, with family nearby, Ballina is just a beautiful place with so much potential,” he says.
“I have worked at pubs before that were at the heart of the community, and The Aussie with its location, size and multiple offerings, can be that pub for Ballina.”
The transaction follows recent coastal NSW sales with HTL including the Hurley’s purchase of Tweed Heads’ Ivory Tavern, Hunter Group buying the Kincumber Hotel, and an unrelated Quinn taking the Lakeside Village Tavern at Raymond Terrace.
“We find that any listing around the Northern Rivers system of NSW attracts enormous interest and competitive bidding from potential purchasers; the Australian Hotel was no different,” commented Edwards.
