AFL crew adds another local to the list with Spotswood Hotel buy
Mona Castle Group has picked up the Spotswood Hotel in Melbourne’s inner west, taking its stable to three venues in what’s been a huge year for pub deals.
The group is backed by past and present Western Bulldogs players and headed by former Bulldog Lukas Webb, alongside business partners Nicholas Schultze and Bradley Olsson.
The trio first crossed paths through the Dogs, as did many of their investors.
On the backer side, Mona Castle Group includes ex-forward Jack Redpath, who notched up 36 games for the club from 2012 to 2016, and current midfield star Tom Liberatore. Both hold equity across the group’s venues: the Mona Castle Hotel in Seddon, the Ascot Vale Hotel in Ascot Vale, and now the Spotswood Hotel.
Liberatore’s love for the locals is well documented: for his 250th game this year, he shouted 250 Pirate Life beers across the two existing pubs.
While the price for the Spotswood deal hasn’t been disclosed, it lands in the middle of a roaring pub market. By the end of September, more than $1.7 billion worth of pubs, bars and nightclubs had changed hands, eclipsing the usual annual run-rate as everyone from family operators to institutional investors chases top-tier venues.
Located in the heart of Spotswood, the hotel features an open-plan layout with a dining room, classic public bar, all-weather courtyard with retractable awnings and a sizeable rear beer garden. It’s been run for about five years by operator Nick Grigoriadis, who also has the Royal Melbourne Hotel in the CBD.
Olsson says Mona Castle Group has deliberately focused on Melbourne’s western suburbs, seeing more value and future upside there than in already-saturated inner-city hot spots like South Yarra, Richmond and South Melbourne.
“We still think there’s massive growth in the area and that’s why we’ve never jumped across the bridge,” he told The Australian Financial Review.
“The West has got a pretty old school approach and the way they support the VFL and [Mission] Whitten Oval and the whole connection there, it’s a massive community base which works with the pubs really well.”
Unlike their first two acquisitions, which were bought on vacant possession, Mona Castle Group has taken over the existing business at Spotswood and plans to live with it for a while before making any big calls. The priority is to get a feel for the venue, team and regulars first.
“We’re really excited about the challenge of taking over an existing business, but we do feel like we will be able to give the venue a bit of growth with the personality and then the style that we offer,” Olsson said.
He says the team has a clear soft spot for suburban locals and community pubs, which makes Spotswood a natural addition to the portfolio.
“For us as a group, we’re trying to essentially create country pubs in the city with an old school focus on our service and offering and what we believe a pub should really be,” he said.
The three partners first got into the game in 2019 with the Ascot Vale Hotel, before buying the Mona Castle Hotel two years later. Both venues have since been refurbished and relaunched.
JLL’s Will Connolly, who handled the campaign, said the asset aligns neatly with the group’s model of classic neighbourhood locals.
“What is pretty rare in a Melbourne suburb, [Spotswood] essentially is a one pub suburb,” he told the Financial Review. “I think that Mona Castle Group identified that and certainly will take advantage of it.”
Jonathan Jackson, 19th November 2025
