Family group expands Australian pub empire with AU$20m purchase

Australian pub company The Hakfoort Group has paid a whopping AU$20m for the freehold and going concern of a pub to expand its empire.

The family-run company, headed up by Albert Hakfoort Jnr, whose late father Albert founded the group, reportedly acquired the Lord Stanley Hotel in East Brisbane for the pricey sum.

The Hakfoort Group already operates three pubs in Toowoomba, the Tingalpa Hotel in Brisbane’s eastern suburbs and another venue located in Bowen in the Whitsunday region.

JLL Hotels & Hospitality Group’s Tom Gleeson handled the sale on behalf of Hotel Property Investments (HPI) and the operator Australian Venue Co.

Speaking of the sale, Gleeson said: “JLL is incredibly pleased to have assisted with the strategic divestment for both ownership stakeholders and congratulate them both. We’re equally excited to see what the Hakfoort Group, who are renowned for breathing new life in assets, do with the Lord Stanley Hotel into the future.“

The Lord Stanley Hotel sale adds weight to the group’s portfolio and is reflective of the demand for freehold pubs with rooms within Queensland.

The divestment reportedly represents a premium for HPI with the passive freehold sale reflecting a 4.62% yield while the sale of the leasehold allows AVC to redeploy capital to other strategic acquisitions.

The Lord Stanley, which sits on 5500sq m of freehold land within 5km of the Brisbane CBD and 1500m from the Gabba, has 40 gaming machines, a function space, a beer garden and significant under-utilised footprint, according to the dealmakers.

Earlier this year, the Hakfoort Group sold the historic Redbrick Hotel in Woolloongabba, in Brisbane’s inner south after 23 years of being the proprietors. The deal, which saw the site sold for AU$7m, went to richlisters the Mathieson family.

The news follows a string of pub deals also taking place recently with Gold Coast-based Artesian Hospitality which saw the group securing the leasehold of the vacant GPO in Fortitude Valley to create a multi venue destination with a plan to open next year.

Additionally, AVC took over the operation of The Boundary Hotel in West End from Oz Pub Group who bought the freehold for the pub in 2017. Plus, publican developer Bruce Donnachy also recently sold the freehold of the Arundel Tavern on the Gold Coast to Paul Xu’s Sun Hotels for a price of around AU$27m. Added to this, Toowoomba’s Shamrock Hotel was put on the market by Wayne and Seona Lee to former AHA vice-president Pat Gurr and other investors for about AU$6m.

Nearby, one of Brisbane’s oldest pubs the Pineapple Hotel in Kangaroo Point, owned by the Singleton family, is now on the market for the first time in 32 years and is expected to sell for in excess of AU$35m, showing there is still headroom for the Australian pub industry to grow and adapt as venues continue to change hands and funds are boosted for refurbishments from within the sector.