Kelly & Co is back on the horse, taking the reins to the “best pub” Royal Hotel-Motel in Scone, Australia’s preeminent equine arena.
Rodney ‘Ned’ Kelly began his career as a publican in 1997 at the Belmore Hotel, established 1866 on his namesake Kelly Street in Scone. Back then he would look across and down the road to the Royal Hotel and think “It would be great to own that pub one day”.
At 119 Kelly Street the two-storey Royal occupies a generous 2,904sqm corner block, counting an attractive public bar, dining areas, nine EGMs, 17 first floor pub rooms and 10 well-presented motel suites.
For around two decades it has been in the hands of the same private owner, who looked to a sale pre-shutdown as other business interests increased, before turning to local stock and station agents MacCallum Inglis to market the asset. MI worked with JLL Hotels’ VP Kate MacDonald, who brought Kelly into the conversation.
Kelly & Co had thus far amassed four pubs, in Gulgong, Mudgee, Old Bar and Rylstone.
Scone, in the upper-west Hunter region, counts almost 5,000 residents and lays claim to being the equine capital of Australia and second-largest horse breeding area in the world.
Recognising ongoing investment in the area and industry Kelly was drawn to the pub’s potential, particularly the strong accommodation offering, which he notes has gone from being a “tack-on” aspect of pub business to a considered part of weekly revenue, but also its strength as an all-rounder.
“I think it’s got a classic Aussie pub layout, with the unique horseshoe public bar that lends itself to having a beer and telling yarns, like the social hub of a community should be. I may even call it the Horseshoe Bar.
“And it’s got a nice back bar where you can entertain families and children, then extensive dining areas with original woodwork and leadlight. I want to reinvigorate these to bring out the original features, and introduce private dining rooms.
“We’ll tap into the local produce … the local beef industry is famous … and whole paddock-to-plate experience.
“It ticks a lot of boxes, and really lends itself to be a classic.”
Pub number five for Kelly follows his group’s purchase of the Rylstone in February, growing his footprint in the Mudgee food bowl.
“It is satisfying to see Ned head back into Scone,” offers MacDonald. “The town has seen some promising growth since then, and I am confident they will greatly benefit from having an operator such as Ned back in the fold.”
