Funds manager CEO Byram Johnston has continued his move into the pub sector, with JBHG picking up its third in central west NSW in less than a year.
Byram and Deborah Johnston have owned and run a farm in the area for nearly a decade, and mid-2022 purchased their first pub, the Tarana Hotel, establishing Johnston Bros Hospitality Group (JBHG).
The pub at Tarana has focused on locally-sourced food, wine and beer, pitching to the weekend ‘drive’ market, without gaming.
Its repositioning brought quick success, seeing turnover up more than 40 per cent and motivating purchase of the historic O’Connell Hotel earlier this year.
The single-storey timber O’Connell was built in 1865, and was closed at the time pursuing a DA for a significant expansion. JBHG leased out the EGM entitlements and converted the gaming room into another dining room, and report it is nearing the final stages of works to re-open.
Located only 15 minutes west of Tarana, JBHG aimed to share resources including staff, management and buying power.
Roughly the same distance east of Tarana, around 15 minutes west of Lithgow, Hotel Alexander is the sole survivor in a once bustling town of six pubs and has come to be known simply as Rydal Pub.
For the past 16 years it has been operated by Phil Paton, and Byram Johnston says he was encouraged by local sentiment around the old watering hole.
“After speaking with many of the locals it became increasingly clear that purchasing the Hotel was a unique opportunity to scale the group’s resources and breathe new life into the Rydal pub.”
The Alexander had been an important fixture of the once bustling town, situated on the original route between Sydney and Bathurst, until changes made to the Great Western Highway in the 1920s meant Rydal was no longer a throughfare, and the town lost much of the passing trade.
A century later, the family see its locality within the Blue Mountains as opportunity to create a destination pub, boosting tourism in the area. They plan to increase trading hours, serve the kind of cuisine “people want to travel for” while keeping the pub meals locals expect, and open the adjoining café six or even seven days a week. This Hotel will also not have gaming.
“The locals want to see their pub open more regularly again and offer up the staple counter meals you’ve come to expect at a country pub,” furthers group operations and communications manager Nathan Johnston.
“It’s early days, but making the Alexander a destination pub would only be done if it didn’t impact the integrity of such an iconic country local.”
The Johnstons note their philosophy to both buy and hire local, even stocking local wines, beers and spirits. This latest acquisition will increase economies of scale and sharing of resources for the Group.
Byram Johnston was CEO of listed funds administrator Mainstream Group. In 2021 he managed its sale to Apex Group for $415 million.
He describes pubs as “good investments” – better than the stock market. Regional properties often come with land, structures and redevelopment opportunities for a fraction of the price of metro commercial, and the Johnstons are prime examples of the influx of
He describes pubs as “good investments” – better than the stock market. Regional properties often come with land, structures and redevelopment opportunities for a fraction of the price of metro commercial, and the Johnstons are prime examples of the influx of sophisticated investor capital hitting the sector.
“As with all our pubs, we have a strong focus on community engagement, respecting the needs of the locals, maintaining the heritage of the pubs and giving back to the community,” says Nathan.
