Laundy, Short in beachside pub swoop

THE pub sector shows no signs of slowing, with Sydney publicans Arthur and Stuart Laundy, in partnership with Fraser Short, snapping up two landmark Sydney establishments — Northies, in Cronulla, and the Mona Vale Hotel, for over $50 million.

The Laundy family and Mr Short have picked up a number of pubs around Sydney since the Laundy family sold a portfolio of leasehold hotels to the ALH Group two years ago.

Andrew Jolliffe, of Ray White Hotels, and Mike Wheatley, of Knight Frank, handled the sale to the partnership, which also bought the Watson’s Bay Hotel for $30m from the Doyle family in 2012.

The hotels were sold by the private Fernwood Group, which had called in a management company to run the pubs. Fernwood, led by chief executive Peter Beaumont, retains the Greengate Hotel at Killara in Sydney’s north and Exchange Hotel in inner-west Balmain.

The new owners are expected to look to overhaul Northies in Cronulla and the Mona Vale Hotel with a focus on building up the food offering.

The move comes just a day after Charter Hall Group unveiled its $603m acquisition of a portfolio of Woolworths-backed ALH Group pubs in partnership with superannuation fund HOSTPLUS.

The partners each poured $151m of equity into the keenly contested deal, which saw negotiations for the sale of the property portfolio handled by investment bank UBS.

Source:  The Australian - 10 September 2014