Queensland pub market hits record high as Roosters chair offloads Gold Coast venue for $50m
Sydney Roosters chairman and billionaire Nick Politis has set a new Queensland pub record, selling the Treetops Tavern in Burleigh Waters for $50 million to an Australian-Chinese investor group while simultaneously expanding his southeast Queensland hotel portfolio.
The sprawling Burleigh Waters venue, which includes a sports bar, dining facilities and an adjoining Cellarbrations drive-through bottle shop, was acquired by Politis and a three-investor syndicate a decade ago for $20 million. The buyer, registered as Sun Treetops Tavern Pty Ltd, is directed by Paul Jian-Bo Xu, David Lai, Jian Feng Li and Xiao Sun, and already holds a portfolio of Queensland pubs including the Arundel Tavern, the Helensvale Tavern, and venues at Stafford and Laidley near Brisbane.
The transaction is understood to represent the highest price ever paid for a pub in Queensland. HTL Property managing director Andrew Jolliffe brokered the off-market deal, with the sale surfacing via a Queensland Government liquor and gaming public register, where approval remains pending.
The result highlights a broader surge in pub valuations nationally, with total pub sales across Australia tracking towards $2 billion for the current financial year as investors chase the reliable returns generated by food and beverage operations combined with gaming revenues.
Jolliffe said the result reflected sustained and geographically broad demand for traditional hotel assets.
"Investor appetite for the traditional hotel asset class transcends geographical guidelines, and we have seen this thematic play out consistently for the past two years," he said. "And whilst acquired by a very established local investor, the interest in this particular asset has always enjoyed a national footprint."
While the final figure was not formally disclosed, HTL Property indicated no comparable Queensland pub sale had reached this level. Jolliffe pointed to the region's Olympics-led economic momentum as a catalyst for further price growth.
"Other very strong hotel sales have enjoyed close price point proximity to Tree Tops, and given the Olympics led economic boom the region is experiencing; we wholly expect other sales to mimic these elevated price points," he said.
Jolliffe also highlighted market liquidity as a structural driver of asset value appreciation.
"Nothing restricts value growth like an illiquid market, and history has shown the intrinsic financial benefits regarding both the prevalence and consistency of an equal number of willing buyers and sellers."
The Treetops sale comes amid a period of significant deal-making for Politis in the Queensland pub sector. Last year, he paid close to $50 million for the Caxton Hotel in Brisbane — one of the state's most recognisable rugby league pubs — acquiring it from the Farquhar family after 28 years of ownership. His vehicle SEQ Hospitality Group now operates eight hotels and 20 bottle shops across the region, including the QA Hotel in Fortitude Valley, the Boathouse in Coomera, Ashmore Tavern, Aspley Tavern, The Plough Inn and The Court House Hotel in Murwillumbah.
Politis, whose wealth is estimated at $4.59 billion according to The Australian's richest 250 rankings, is best known for his automotive and property interests, including a long-standing major shareholding and board position at Eagers Automotive, which expanded into the Canadian market last year.
Jonathan Jackson, 29th April 2026
