Arthur Laundy sells Orange pub for record $25m
Rich Lister Arthur Laundy and two co-investors have cashed in on strong demand for pubs in regional NSW, selling Orange’s historic Canobolas Hotel for a record $25 million to the Sukkar family, owners of construction group Buildcorp.
Mr Laundy, worth $1.27 billion according to the 2021 Financial Review Rich List, shared equal ownership of the imposing, 82-year-old art deco hotel on Summer Street in the heart of Orange with fellow publicans Mark Dalton and Philip Tudor.
The trio, which jointly own another historic Orange hotel, The Gladstone on Byng Street, paid just $3 million for the Canobolas Hotel in 2003.
The circa $25 million sale, confirmed by well-placed industry sources, set a record price for a pub in Orange, a booming country town known for its gourmet food and wine.
It is the third pub in the regional town to sell at prices usually achieved by inner-city Sydney pubs, after the nearby Royal and Robin Hood Hotels sold for about $20 million each earlier this year.
The Royal Hotel was bought by a syndicate of wealthy Canberra investors as part of a $75 million swoop on five pubs in the NSW Central West, while the Robin Hood Hotel was bought for a new regional pub fund set up and managed by Sydney hotelier Jason Marlow and his wife Peta.
Another NSW country town, Armidale, has also been the focus of a number of hotel transactions this year, including the Whitebull Hotel, which sold to regional hotelier Jim Knox for $13.25 million, a record for the agricultural town.
The Sukkar family purchased the Hotel Canobolas in partnership with Sydney-based Point Group Hospitality.
Headed by Brett Robinson, Point Group’s venues include the newly opened Menzies Bar & Bistro at Shell House, constructed by Buildcorp, and Fort Denison in Sydney harbour.
Leonard Bongiovanni from Manenti Quinlan & Associates negotiated the sale of Hotel Canobolas on behalf of Mr Laundy and his co-investors.
“To achieve a record sale price following such strong recent results highlights the incredible strength of the market,” Mr Bongiovanni said.
“Orange has excellent appeal as one of the towns leading Australia’s regional revival. The population has exploded to overtake Bathurst and Dubbo, and the number of annual visitors to the region grew from 1.1 million in 2017 to more than 1.8 million in 2020. It’s a fantastic place to invest,” said Bongiovanni.
Buildcorp’s Mark Tonkin said the new owners planned to give the hotel a “thoughtful facelift that celebrates its original heritage features and identity”.
“We plan to begin with the ground floor bar and bistro before renovating the ballroom, upstairs bars and function spaces, then moving onto the accommodation.”
