Bill and Mario Gravanis’ Oscars Hotels is offering for sale for the first time ever, the high-performing Sports Hotel, Bankstown.
Set on a prominent corner of Chapel Road, the pub incorporates a large sports bar with efficient operational layout, gaming with 27 machines, nine accommodation rooms, and on-site parking. It holds late-trading authority, open as late as 5am.
Oscars formerly held the Cumberland Hotel, across the road, and moved the licence to its current location for the new Sports Hotel in the late 90s.
The Group has been exploring diversification opportunities, seen in purchase of the ‘Beachie’ Hotel early 2021 from David Kingston, and subsequent divestment of several pubs, specifically The Strand to Jon Adgemis’ new group in May, Five Islands to Paddy Coughlan in June, and the Empire of Annandale in October, also to Adgemis.
As one of Oscars’ foundation hotels, sale of The Sports is further indication of its growth and diversification trajectory.
“Sports Hotel has been a key asset within the portfolio since its inception to the group over 20 years ago,” a company spokesperson told PubTIC.
“However, with the Group primed for entry into larger scale multi-faceted venues, the sale of Sports – given its location, strong customer base and resilience – makes it appealing to many suitors.
“The divestment of Sports Hotel Bankstown will see the Group continue to focus on establishing a national footprint and further diversify the portfolio across all areas of hospitality.”
Situated in the heart of the Bankstown CBD, one of the most tightly-held pub precincts in Sydney, The Sports is the first hotel in the precinct to be offered for sale in over two decades. Bankstown is one of the few Band 3 LGA classifications where an increase in gaming machines is prohibited.
The Bankstown CBD Master Plan is slated to usher in more than 20,000 employees, to work in multiple 25-storey towers surrounding the Sports Hotel, which is at the gateway to the designated multicultural food and retail precinct.
Sydney’s pub market has pushed the boundaries on sales metrics in the past year, as seen in transaction of the Lansvale Hotel in May, the Vineyard Hotel in October, and the Carousel Hotel in November – each reportedly selling on yields of circa four per cent.
Bankstown LGA is home to five pubs on the Liquor & Gaming list of NSW pubs. Oscars’ Sports Hotel currently ranks #99, and is proximate to three Top100 venues, in the Three Swallows (#27), Bankstown (#40) and Bankstown Club (#74) hotels.
Sale of The Sports is being managed by JLL Hotels’ John Musca and Ben McDonald, who suggest it is a “future Top10 hotel” and given the rarity of the Bankstown sale and record low interest rates, tip sale price of circa $70 million.
“It’s about as good as these Triple-A assets can get,” says McDonald.
The freehold going concern of the Sports Hotel Bankstown is being sold via Expressions of Interest, closing Tuesday, 3 May.
