Continuing its portfolio shake-up, Universal Hotels is selling the Newtown Hotel in Sydney’s inner west, meeting the surging market for high cashflow operations.
Well located at the gateway to the famed and vibrant King Street retail and entertainment strip, the Hotel sits on a high exposure corner of over 700sqm, close to Newtown Train Station and only half a kilometre from the University of Sydney.
Spanning more than 1,500sqm of trading space, street level features a spacious public bar with sliding windows providing an indoor/outdoor atmosphere, a gaming room holding 10 machines with entitlements owned by the lessor, pool room, and an all-weather beer garden. There is also a dormant kitchen, which reportedly could be easily reinstated.
On the first floor is a bar, commercial kitchen and large dining space with various seating options, and a popular balcony overlooking King Street that recently received an extension on trade every day from 10pm to midnight.
The top floor has additional function spaces that marketing literature suggests could further contribute to trading capacity.
The Hotel licence holds 1am trading approval, and the business is generating average weekly revenue north of $120K, with 71 per cent derived from high GP bar sales.
Universal bought the leasehold interest from Chris Morris’ Colonial Leisure Group mid-2021. The freehold owners are a private Greek family that have held the asset for over 30 years.
The Kospetas family-owned Universal keeps a balance of freehold and leasehold titles, mostly in the Sydney CBD. The group has recently bought and sold, taking over the Palace Hotel in Haymarket while leasing out the Bat & Ball in Redfern, and purchasing the strata title of the Evening Star in Surry Hills from Barham Hamarashid while selling back to him The Mill in Bondi.
The Newtown Hotel lease has 17 years remaining, with opportunity for a new 30-year contract.
It represents the kind of operation said to be in demand by pub operators in the current climate, being a robust business in a vibrant location with a long tenure, and comes as the industry is seeing a significant uptick in investor activity since the start of FY25.
JLL Hotels’ Kate MacDonald, Ben McDonald and Greg Jeloudev are marketing the operation, and note the interest in high turnover leasehold opportunities.
“In these challenging lending environments, we’re seeing a real focus on high cashflow businesses with strong earnings,” says MacDonald.
The leasehold will be sold via an Expressions of Interest campaign, closing Tuesday, 10 September.
