Sustaining the flow of northern rivers pub sales, the Dougherty family have divested their Grafton Hotel to Riverina hotelier Jim Knox.
The Doughertys have been staples of the region and community for decades, well-known for owning and operating both Westlawn Insurance and Westlawn Finance for the past 50 years.
For 41 years they have also owned The Grafton, on a sizeable 748sqm lot opposite Grafton Shopping World. It provides single bar operation, commercial kitchen and bistro, new gaming room with 15 machines and full smoking solution, function space and 13 pub-style accommodation rooms.
Over $1 million was spent extensively upgrading in a renovation last year.
But after more than four decades, the family decision was to list the asset. Jim Dougherty offered that pub ownership was “slightly outside of our core competencies of property investment, finance, insurance and accounting”. They recognised favourable cyclical market conditions and the chance to pursue other investment opportunities.
The pub has been reporting weekly revenues circa $55k, with more than 40 per cent coming from gaming.
Sources say sale price was north of $5 million – taking the title from the recent Good Intent sale as the highest in the LGA in the past year.
“We are delighted to have achieved such a strong result for our respective families, and are equally excited to see Jim have every success in the venue” offered Jim Dougherty.
Jim Knox is already an established Hotelier in Griffith, in the Riverina.
He also owns agricultural interests in Guyra, south-west of Grafton, and reportedly recognised an opportunity for a greater presence in the area, and upside in the pub through operational improvements.
The region is benefitting from investment in local infrastructure and continued upgrades to the Pacific Highway.
“The Hotel exhibits many desirable trading characteristics sought after by the most experienced and successful publicans, including a prime CBD location with high levels of pedestrian traffic, proximity to ample car parking, a cost-effective single bar operation, sound underlying revenue base from high-margin profit centres and a significant gaming entitlement holding,” explained HTL Property’s Xavier Plunkett, who exclusively managed the transaction.
