Sydney silk sells Newtown’s Courthouse pub to a beer baron in a frothy $24m deal

Capital Gain

Barrister Brian Dooley, who called last drinks at Newtown’s Courthouse pub just over a month ago, putting the popular watering hole up for sale, is handing the hotel’s keys to his thirsty tenant, pub baron Bruce Solomon, who has paid a frothy $24 million.

Solomon’s very active hotel business, Solotel, is now run by his son Elliot.

The pair own the leasehold at the Courthouse and have run the pub for the past 20 years, but with their lease set to expire in September, they swooped on the opportunity to buy the freehold of the pub instead.

The 773-square-metre pub at 202 Australia Street in bohemian Newtown is affectionately known to locals as The Courty.

Solotel intends to hand over the running of the Courthouse to one of the country’s largest pub operators, Australian Venue Co, which also manages other venues owned by the Solomons.

Dooley, a Sydney silk normally to be found at 4 Wentworth Chambers or appearing at the Court of Appeal, Supreme Court or District Courts, had owned the Courthouse for close to four decades but called time in March and decided to sell into Sydney’s hot pub market.

HTL Property’s Andrew Jolliffe brokered the sale.

In a separate pub deal, Amalgamated Holdings, a family company associated with the late Lady Mary Fairfax and, you guessed it, Bruce Solomon, has put three popular hotels in and around the CBD’s fringe up for sale.

Amalgamated, which lists Solomon and the late Mary Fairfax’s personal secretary Lee Thomas as directors, has held the pubs for 30 years.

They are: the Clock at 470 Crown Street in Surry Hills, The Sackville at 599 Darling Street, Rozelle, and The Bank at 324 King Street in Newtown.

Solotel has been the long-time manager of the pubs.

No price was disclosed by the agents, but the pubs between them generate a combined average annual revenue of about $40 million, with 11 per cent year-on-year revenue growth. They are being sold separately or in one line.

According to records, Amalgamated paid about $4.7 million for The Clock in 1996 and $22 million for The Bank pub in 2007.

When asked about a price guide, JLL Hotel’s John Musca said: “We know how important that is for the media and we typically try to, but we just can’t here. These are too unique.” Musca, Ben McDonald and Kate MacDonald are advising on the sale.

Tomark’s test

An Oakley, Onitsuka Tiger and Michael Hill store combo in Sydney’s George Street, worth a cool $90 million, is up for sale.

Between them the shops generate a combined net passing income of about $3.1 million a year. The prime retail properties, at 393-397 George Street, have been held by their long-time owner, a company called Tomark, for more than 30 years.

Tomark is now testing investor appetite for the top-tier assets; 397 George Street has three levels, while 395 George Street has five levels and 393 George Street has nine levels.

The fully leased properties, on adjoining freehold titles, are being sold in one line. They cover a combined 540-square-metre site and have about 2609 sq m of net lettable area.

James Aroney and Rob Sewell of Knight Frank are the sales agents.

Brescia furniture

The Brescia family has sold its well-known furniture business at 119-121 Cabramatta Road for $15 million.

The Cabramatta property has been home to the Brescia Furniture business since 1961, when founder Antonio Brescia migrated from Italy and established what became a leading retailer of premium imported Italian furnishings in Sydney.

The sale of the property to Warakirri College signals the end of a generational era and the beginning of a new community-focused chapter for the 1699 sq m site.

It already has a development approved by Fairfield City Council for conversion to a secondary school. The project has an estimated capital value of $11.3 million.

The college is an independent school for young people aged 15 to 22 who have become disconnected from mainstream education pathways. The new campus will add to Warakirri’s other nearby sites. Colliers agents Harry Bui and Andrew Bui managed the sale.

Hotels rev up

A new Courtyard by Marriott is set to open in Crows Nest in the lower north shore. Marriott will open the 100-room hotel late in 2027 in Deicorp’s $640 million Falcon and Alexander street mixed-use development.

Meanwhile, Australian hotel brand Adina hotels is sponsoring rising motorsport athlete Aiva Anagnostiadis, who will compete on the Misano World Circuit this weekend, part of Europe’s premier GT racing series.

Born and raised in Melbourne, 18-year-old Aiva Anagnostiadis was the first Australian woman to compete in the all-female F1 Academy series.

carolynannecummins@gmail.com

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