The operation of high-performing North Sydney watering hole Billy Barry’s Hotel has been sold, heralding the retirement of its long-time owner-operator, Kieren Barry.
The two-level sports bar-styled pub is located across from bustling North Sydney train station, one of Sydney’s busiest, and features a main bar, bistro, gaming room, function room, and 2am liquor licence.
Taking over what was previously known as the Station Hotel, Barry has operated his eponymous pub for the past 13 years.
In March he sent it to market, with 12.5 years remaining on the lease and ‘hard asset’ value, through inclusion of both the hotel’s licence and entitlements on 27 machines.
Reporting annual revenue of circa $7 million, around half is through gaming, seeing it ranked #304 by Liquor & Gaming, and consistently the third-highest performer in the North Sydney LGA.
North Sydney CBD is experiencing significant, unprecedented growth, driven by more than $10 billion in public and private investment to accommodate another 6K residents and 20K workers over the next decade, and the newly opened Victoria Cross Metro Station.
The lease on Billy Barry’s has sold to an unidentified buyer for around $12 million, which is in line with expectations.
It joins the recent $35 million sale of the nearby Fire House by his brother, Mark Barry, which marked the first freehold going concern pub sold in North Sydney in decades.
“Fundamentally, it was the ownership of both the liquor licence and all 27 gaming machine entitlements that underwrote the strength of this offering,” advises HTL Property’s Blake Edwards, who marketed the asset with colleague Sam Handy.
“In that sense, the buyer has secured not just a strong business, but a rare collection of appreciating hard assets.”
