Balmain’s famed London Hotel has been sold off-market by the Stevens family to Ray Reilly and Co for $8.5 million.
The Stevens’ acquired the landmark pub on Balmain’s Darling Street in 1989 from the Coopers Brewing family. The family also owns the Spinning Wheel Hotel in Raymond Terrace and Commercial Hotel in Tumut.
The pub still holds strong association with Coopers, including a custom bar brought up from Adelaide. The Victorian-style London was built 1857, making it one of Sydney’s oldest pubs.
It has reportedly operated continuously since 1870, bar the COVID shutdown, where the Stevens’ executed a significant refresh of its two separate bars, gaming operation and 10 EGMs, kitchen and dining facilities and function room.
Always looking for new opportunities, sale of the London came as they were in discussions on buying, not selling.
“You’re not in a place for 32 years if it’s not a good spot,” says family patriarch Will Stevens. “Someone’s got to motivate you to get out of there.”
Ray Reilly and business partner Rene Aalhuizen had been looking at other sales taking place in the CBD fringe and inner west. Aalhuizen is a Balmain boy and has a long association with the Stevens’ and actually met his wife at the London.
The pair will co-own the freehold 50/50, and local identity and fellow Irishman Laurence Collins will own and operate the business under a new lease. Collins is a known entity in Balmain, having previously worked at The Welcome, Australian Youth, Cat & Fiddle and most recent the Bald Rock.
Eager to get a foothold into his own venue, Reilly and Aalhuizen agreed to the same arrangement they have with Luke Dryland at the Sutton Forest Inn.
The freeholders now own seven between them, including the London, with Aalhuizen also landlord at Balmain’s East Village and Cricketers Arms.
“It’s just an institution, mate,” beamed Reilly. “We feel quite honoured and privileged to have got the deal done and shook hands over it. It was a no-brainer for us.”
Once one of the most bustling pub precincts, recent years have seen a thinning of the ranks and Balmain is being reinvented.
“When I first came to Australia, Balmain was the spot,” adds Reilly. “Hopefully we can have a say in its future.
“We’re taking over a healthy business. There’s not a whole lot more we can do, we’re not going in guns blazing.”
Stevens sold the London through JLL Hotels’ Ben McDonald, and says while they do not feel any immediate pressure to do something, in a red-hot market, their search for new assets will continue.
He reflects how much the precinct has changed in three decades, leaving behind the students and cheap accommodation for a median house price in the multi-millions.
“When we took over I was living upstairs with my wife, a dog and six cats – and running the pub. It’s been fascinating to watch what Balmain’s done over the years.
“We’re just so happy we’ve sold to people we know and they’re going to look after it.”
And there’s no question Collins and the locals will be seeing Will Stevens again.
“I don’t live far away, I’ll be here to harass them.
“I was just saying to my brother: we don’t need to behave ourselves so well here anymore!”
