Universal Hotels buys Sydney watering hole Evening Star
The Evening Star Hotel in inner-city Surry Hills.
Sydney’s pub scene is showing signs of life with Universal Hotels snapping up the Evening Star Hotel in inner-city Surry Hills for about $15m.
The pub has a colourful trading history and is well known as a watering hole for journalists, but it is now well placed to capitalise on growth across the southern end of the city.
The bustling area around Central Station is set to benefit from the planned development of the Tech Central precinct, which will bring new workers to the area. The pub sits on Elizabeth St and is opposite the station.
Other buyers who have been active of late include tycoon Arthur Laundy and the buyers of three pubs sold by Redcape for $136m to long-time industry players.
Mr Laundy outlaid about $20m for The Light Brigade Hotel in Woollahra, adding to his billionaire family’s collection of eastern suburbs assets such as the Watsons Bay Hotel and the Woolloomooloo Bay Hotel.
Redcape sold the Kings Head Tavern in Hurstville, the Australian Brewery in Rouse Hill and the Eastwood Hotel in Eastwood in a series of separate deals which marked the largest pub transaction this year.
JLL Hotels agents Ben McDonald and Kate MacDonald handled the latest deal for the vendor, Dr Barham Hamarashid. He has bought the pub for $12m in 2021 from Marcus Levy and had refurbished it, spending about $1.5m. Dr Hamarashid still has a number of hotels throughout regional NSW.
The pub sells food, drinks and has 24 gaming machines.
Universal Hotels, which is owned and operated by the Kospetas family, said the acquisition took its portfolio to 17 venues across NSW, of which a high concentration was in Sydney.
Its pubs include Erskineville’s The Imperial Hotel – made famous by film Priscilla, Queen of the Desert – which has been restored to its former entertainment glory.
Universal bought The Imperial Hotel last year from Sydney Collective’s Fraser Short and Australian Hotels Association NSW president Scott Leach.
