Pubs to pads? Hospitality heavyweights explore residential add-ons
Australia’s pub heavyweights are eyeing a new frontier — housing — as pressure mounts to boost the country’s supply of new homes. With planning reforms rolling out across state and federal levels to fast-track development, both Redcape Hospitality and Endeavour Group are exploring how their larger venues could double as residential hubs.
Redcape, part of ASX-listed MA Financial, has pinpointed three NSW pub sites it believes are well suited to housing or short-stay accommodation. Endeavour Group has gone even further, flagging 10 of its venues as candidates for mixed-use redevelopment, including potential new apartment projects.
For Redcape managing director Chris Unger, the opportunity feels obvious. “There are a lot of pubs sitting on a lot of useable land that are really well-placed to do more with,” he told The Australian Financial Review (AFR). While neither Redcape nor Endeavour plans to morph into residential developers, both say they’ll partner with investors and development specialists if their proposals make it through the approvals process.
Their confidence comes as governments push an ambitious target of 1.2 million new homes by mid-2029, backed by new pathways that speed up planning sign-offs. Unger believes pubs are uniquely positioned to benefit from the shift. He argues that the convenience and community feel of living above or beside a local venue outweigh any potential clashes of lifestyle.
“A pub today is, and always has been, a core part of the community,” he told the AFR.
“Being around somewhere you can eat regularly, have a drink, see friends, all those kinds of things would be attractive, I would think. There are a lot of pubs sitting on a lot of useable land that are really well-placed to do more with.”
Redcape is preparing development applications for its three shortlisted venues — all in Sydney’s west and south-west — with plans expected to be lodged by mid-2026.
Concepts currently on the drawing board include a seven-storey addition above the Revesby Pacific Hotel and a 10-level tower over the St Marys Hotel.
At the Leumeah Hotel, the company is already further advanced. Planning rules now allow housing on the site, and Redcape is proposing twin 10-storey towers with a mix of short-term accommodation, residential apartments, commercial floorspace and a refreshed pub offering.
Recent reforms in NSW and Victoria, which allow certain residential projects to bypass local councils, have given Redcape new momentum. Unger says the state’s historically slow approvals process had been a major barrier. The creation of the Housing Delivery Authority, however, has shifted the company’s outlook. “We’ve been always assessing the sites for options like this. It’s not really a new thing, but we’ve found in the past, planning approvals too difficult,” he said. “Now with these incentives … and the more pro-building that the government is delivering on, you look at these things with more confidence.”
Endeavour Group — operator of Dan Murphy’s, BWS and ALH Hotels — has its own slate of redevelopment opportunities. Four of its 10 target sites could host residential apartments, including The Doncaster Hotel and a Dan Murphy’s location in Melbourne’s east.
Chief executive Kate Beattie says progress is already stacking up. The company has advanced five of its priority projects, lodging four development applications with a fifth underway. “In aggregate, these five sites have been independently valued at between $100 million and $150 million, and we believe there is further upside to those valuations once our DAs are approved,” she told The Australian Financial Review.
One standout proposal is a 30-storey apartment and hotel tower above Brisbane’s heritage-listed Morrison Hotel — a project timed to support rising tourism and workforce needs ahead of the 2032 Olympic Games. Through ALH Hotels, Endeavour is also planning a major upgrade to the pub itself, incorporating 245 residential units and 140 guest suites.
“The Morrison is one of several major development applications we are currently progressing, with several similar projects earmarked in key locations at our freehold sites that have high development potential,” Beattie said. “We are committed to growing capital returns through portfolio optimisation, renewal of our hotels and redevelopments like these.”
Jonathan Jackson, 4th December 2025
