Darlinghurst icon the Lord Roberts Hotel is for sale as a freehold going concern, for the first time in close to a century.
A ‘Public House’ first appeared on the Stanley Street site in 1871, named the Shannon Hotel.
In 1901, operators the Powell family entered into a lease arrangement with JS & J Toohey Ltd, and in 1902 the pub was renamed the Lord Roberts Hotel, in deference to Field Marshal Frederick Sleigh Roberts – one of the most successful British commanders of the 19th century – who was knighted the previous year.
In 1926 the business was taken over by John Keith Walker, who successfully launched and made Spango carbonated wine in the Hotel’s cellar, with his father, and the following year the property transferred to Francis Joseph Carroll, of Alexandria.
The next half-century saw only minor changes, retaining the open rear courtyard laid in the 20s, until additions to the existing building in 1989 brought a new brick extension and new women’s toilets.
The Cameron family took on the lease in 1975, with Sue Cameron successfully getting her first hotel licence. In 1995 she bought the balance of the family’s interest.
In 1997 John Francis Jones purchased the freehold from the executors of the estate of Francis Carroll, and applied further alterations, covering the remainder of the site to the rear laneway.
Sue later acquired the freehold also, and in 2014 an adjacent terrace to the rear, on Crown Lane, was purchased, which now makes up a significant part of the hotel’s gaming area, with smoking solution.
Set on a prominent corner position beside Sydney café institution Bill & Tonis, on street level the pub offers a large single service bar area, a sports lounge with TAB and casual dining area, and gaming array of 17 machines.
Upstairs is a more formal dining option and service bar, opening to an alfresco terrace, and the top level is currently an oversized office and storage area.
Opportunity in the operation is seen in the underutilised third level, and Band 1 gaming, currently ranked #812 by Liquor & Gaming – down from its three-year average of #657.
Pre-COVID the business generated annual revenue (EBITDA) of $1.45 million, but had yet to realise the uplift from the new smoking solution.
“As the long-term custodian of ‘The Lord’ I’ve felt very privileged to have served the very eclectic community of East Sydney; plenty of colourful characters have called this pub their local,” says Cameron.
“It’s no secret that there are very big plans for the development of this area – as prime city fringe real estate – and it’s time for us to hand the reins to a new operator who will be better equipped to handle the next chapter of the business, and the boost in business and residents expected on our doorstep.”
Beyond the underlying value of the building and PMEs, the property is something of a ‘Field of Dreams’ opportunity, say Savills Hotels’ Nick Butler, marketing the asset for the first time in almost 100 years.
“While the hotel is enjoying a return to pre-COVID revenues and still holds plenty of upside in its current form, the really exciting prospect lies in the fact it sits in the centre of a precinct that’s set down for re-development on a scale that will change that pocket forever.
“Stanley and Riley Streets will be unrecognisable as the grungy city fringe of old,” says Butler.
The freehold going concern of the Lord Roberts Hotel is being sold via Expressions of Interest, closing Friday, 27 May.
