Nick Quinn and partners have divested the Australian Hotel in Wingham, which will become part of the growing collection of Tim Smith.
Set on a prominent 1,884sqm corner of Wingham’s arterial Bent Street, the Aussie is comprised of the classic pub offerings of a main bar, bistro, gaming room with 13 machines, and 11 accommodation rooms.
It is the only pub in the town of over 5k residents, located around 15 minutes’ drive west of Taree, making it a stand-out for pub to population ratio.
Quinn and associates bought the freehold in 2021, and later assumed the operation.
Well regarded in the north coast region, Smith has a strong presence in the town of Macksville, around two hours’ north of Wingham, holding both the Star and Macksville hotels. Previously he held the keys at The Kempsey.
He has reportedly now paid around $8 million for the Australian, in a deal that involved the guaranteed sale of six EGMs, which Smith had available, to the vendor.
The two-way sale marked the seventh regional transaction reported by pub brokers HTL Property so far for 2024, and agents champion this was a good outcome for all involved as activity in the sector continues to heat up.
“Activity amongst buyers and sellers has increased markedly in 2024, with trade and interest rates stabilizing, operators have acclimatized to the new normal and are getting on with business,” posed HTL’s Blake Edwards, who brokered the deal with colleague Xavier Plunkett.
