Newcastle’s Kent Pub Hits the Market

Newcastle's 96-year-old Kent Hotel has hit the market in the wake of strong transactional volumes and low availability of stock in New South Wales hotel market.

The Kent, which has been privately owned for the past 17 years, has been listed with early price expectations north $25 million based on a number of recent deals.

Big name Sydney Hoteliers such as Andrew Lazarus, Marcus Levy, Simon Tilley, Dan and Sean O'Hara, Mark Malloy, James Hannon and Riversdale’s Matthew Beach have all recently acquired footholds in the area.

The hotel is a multi-level venue generating annual revenues in excess of $8.3 million, supported by a 24-machine gaming room and a high performing food and beverage operation.

The vendor has appointed HTL Property's Andrew Jolliffe and Dan Dragicevich on the sale.

“What was initially a value bet investors were waging has now morphed into a high conviction and mid to long term investment strategy of having money out to work in a reliable and growing local economy,” HTL Property managing director Andrew Jolliffe said.

With $6.5 billion worth of infrastructure planned or under way and nearly $2 billion in private development projects, Newcastle has become a hot spot for investors.

The city benefiting from high population growth, low unemployment and a nearly 50 per cent price disparity compared with Sydney, has continued to fuel significant residential development and transaction volumes.

Newcastle also replaced Sydney as the host of the V8 Supercars with the five-year commitment injecting $57 million into the Hunter region and attracting 81,000 visitors.

“The hospitality market in Newcastle has always been very strong, however is further underwritten by an airport now welcoming international flights, a government funded light rail project which complements the huge private investment into the Revitalising Newcastle project set to rejuvenate the CBD,” HTL Property director Blake Edwards said.

“Newcastle is perfectly positioned to take advantage of short stay demand for world class beaches and Hunter Valley vineyards in Australia’s first wine region.”

Another popular pub in NSW's Hunter Valley, the Bank, has been put the market for the first time in nine years through HTL.

The pub at East Maitland is being sold as a freehold going concern hotel and comes at a time of larger-scale commercial developments in the Hunter region.