The Ingham Myers family has boosted their pub portfolio with the addition of Jaz Mooney’s classic Normanby Hotel, in boomtown Brisbane.
Sam and Nick Ingham Myers and their Hotels group hold a spread of properties, notably including the Karalee Tavern and the Rocklea Hotel, purchased in 2015. More recently they divested their leaseholds in Armidale to focus on Queensland.
It’s said the group has now paid about $15 million for the freehold going concern of the Normanby – one of Brisbane’s most iconic pubs. Built 1890, the multi-level Hotel is one of the city’s oldest, and was added to the Heritage register in 1992.
“I am happy to see the Normanby Hotel be retained by safe hands, and I look forward to seeing what the new owners do with this iconic Brisbane pub,” offered vendor, Jaz Mooney.
When Mooney’s Pelathon purchased the old girl in 2019, he suggested the pub was an “iconic beauty” and that is was his “duty to put her back to her former glory”. This motivated a substantial $4 million refurbishment in the following months, with a reopening in September of that year.
The revised Normanby, enjoying a 4,162sqm site, embodied in-built versatility. It provided multiple bars, restaurants, gaming room with 24 machines, beer garden, and dedicated functions areas, with operational scalability as required.
Looking to capitalise on the investment, the Irishman listed the burgeoning new landmark in 2022 to focus on other acquisitions.
The site and location possess long-term development prospects, amplified by the city’s massive development pipeline ahead of the 2032 Olympics.
The Normanby is a short walk from the $2bn 18,000-seat Brisbane Live development and rail station, $5.4bn Cross River Rail project, and Victoria Park Redevelopment – adding to the $3.6bn Queens Wharf Development and $1.24bn Brisbane Metro.
Recently the new year-long trial of reduced taxation on sale of gaming authorities began, at the new figure of 15 per cent (down from 33). And the debut tender process brought forth a record average price of $374,471 per authority, and highest number of transfers since 2019.
CBRE’s Paul Fraser, agent for the pub sale, says the revenue generation and authority values have created a “gaming boom” in south-east Queensland – further fuelling the demand for inner-Brisbane hotels amid the capital’s intensive infrastructure pipeline.
“With this city’s changing infrastructure due to come online and the Brisbane Olympic Games right around the corner, the Normanby Hotel is in a prime position to prosper over the next decade and beyond,” says Fraser.
