For the first time in more than 60 years, inner west sweetheart the Carlisle Castle Hotel in Newtown is being offered to market as a freehold going concern.
Residing on a prominent 569sqm corner lot, the two-storey Carlisle Castle (CCH) was built in 1876 and is rich in heritage and character, replete with a gold statuette of a lion on the parapet and stunning Italian marble bar, and wielding a reputation for its authentic charm and community feel.
Street level offers a versatile layout with public bar, lounge seating, a billiards room, beer garden, and bottleshop. There is also a commercial kitchen and bistro, which is operated by a third party.
Upstairs finds 13 accommodation rooms, currently let to long-term residents.
Only four kilometres from the CBD, Newtown continues to be one of Sydney’s premier hospitality precincts, offering high-end urban experiences and frequented by hordes of students and professionals. The Castle is close to King Street, Sydney Uni, RPA Hospital, the Carriageworks and train and bus services.
The hotel also holds 10 entitlements for gaming machines, which it removed in 2022 and now leases under short-term agreements.
Both the entitlements and accommodation provide stable rental income, bolstering what is reported to be consistent bar and retail trade. The business sees weekly revenue (FY24) averaging $39K, coming mostly (64pc) from high-margin bar takings.
The Castle provides uplift potential through several channels, giving an incoming purchaser strategic flexibility. There is clear blue sky in bringing the foodservice in-house, to better capitalise on the strong f&b trade in the area, as well as by reclaiming the gaming or upgrading the accommodation offering.
The site further benefits from its E1 Local Centre zoning, allowing for future repositioning or redevelopment.
Freeholds in Sydney’s inner-west are rare and tightly held, and the CCH has been in the firm grip of the Hasset family for more than six decades. They have previously owner-operated it, but for many years it has been under lease, in recent times to Surfside Hotel Group.
With the latest lease now expired, the family has opted to put the vacant asset to market rather than have it continue under outside management.
“This is one of the few remaining generational pub offerings in Sydney’s inner city,” says Leonard Bongiovanni, of MQ & Associates, marketing the property.
Sale of the bricks and mortar and business is via Expressions of Interest, closing Thursday, 21 August, with no price expectation offered.
“Opportunities like this don’t come around often,” adds Bongiovanni.
“The Carlisle Castle is an institution, and with strong core trade and multiple avenues for uplift, it presents as a premium value-add proposition for both operators and investors.”
