Furthering the Hunter’s quest as one of the country’s hottest regions for pub property, industry icon Arthur Laundy has snapped up the Clancys’ The Bank at Maitland.
Going coastal from Sydney, in 2010 Terry and Tammy Clancy bought up the Bank Hotel from receivers, reviving it to become a well-patronised local.
The pub was built on a generous block just off the New England Highway, providing a public bar, bistro, beer garden, gaming room, first floor function space and bar, and off-street parking, under a 3am licence.
Maitland is around 40 kilometres north-west of the Newcastle CBD, en route to the Hunter Valley, with a population of more than 77,000.
It is home to several pubs ranked in the NSW Top300, although the Bank’s gaming operation is somewhat undercooked, currently #905, with aging hardware and most machines not in a smoking solution.
The Rutherford Hotel in Maitland was sold by Stephen Hunt late 2018 for $6.5m, and the Belmore Hotel late 2017 for $8.8 million.
In June the Clancys put the Bank to market through HTL Property, with indications of sale price circa $5 million.
Its strategic location and inherent upside attracted multiple potential buyers and bidders, resulting in a strategic swoop by the pub king and son.
“We see the Bank Hotel opportunity as a means to expand our already strong Hunter region property exposure,” offered heir apparent Craig Laundy, who has resumed a key role in the group after doing time as an elected official.
“And in doing so, elaborate further commercially with regard our very positive operational partnership with Nick Quinn.”
Licensee of the nearby Windsor Castle, Quinn joins Laundy and a “consortium of buyers” eager to collaborate on optimising the pub. Despite its modest stature beside many of Laundy’s AAA hotels in Sydney and further north, the Bank meets the family’s agenda.
“The Newcastle and Hunter region is one of Australia’s fastest-growing regions both in terms of population and industry, and this satisfies two of our crucial investment criteria when we look to deploy capital,” adds Laundy.
In an indication of increased market activity after a slow first half for 2019, HTL reports 11 freehold sales already for FY20.
The level of pursuit of regional properties, such as that reported on the Bank, suggests new benchmarks outside of Sydney.
“Strong transactional volumes for regional hotels over the past 24 months has resulted in a deficit of on market hotel opportunities for buyers.
“This, in turn, has created market characteristics normally associated with metropolitan assets, such as cap rate compression and deals being done on an opportunity basis,” offers HTL’s Blake Edwards, lead agent for the sale.
