Craig's Royal Hotel in Ballarat sold to hospitality group for more than $12 million
Pub operator Black Rhino Group has bought Craig’s Royal Hotel in Ballarat for more than $12 million – a record for pub sales in the city.
The grand property at 10 Lydiard Street was put to market last year as part of an expressions-of-interest campaign following more than two decades of ownership by John and Mary Finning.
The purchase bolsters the Black Rhino Group’s presence in the regional Victorian market, which includes other venues such as the Railway Club Hotel in Seymour and the Victoria Hotel in Shepparton
The group also has a network of pubs in metropolitan Melbourne including the Richmond Social in Swan Street, the Hampton Park Tavern, the Ivanhoe Hotel, the Royal Oak Hotel in Cheltenham and the Waterloo Cup Hotel in Moonee Ponds.
JLL’s Hotels and Hospitality vice-president Will Connolly said bids for the 1853-built Ballarat property had flowed in from accommodation operators, hospitality groups, publicans, private equity and high-net-worth investors.
“As you can imagine, there was a lot of interest for a hotel with such a rich history and an extensive multimillion-dollar restoration,” Mr Connolly said.
In addition to the hotel’s 37 rooms, coffee shop and restaurant, the sale also included a lucrative gaming licence.
“Not only does Craig’s Royal offer arguably Victoria’s most elegant boutique accommodation, but it is also a business that provides a foundation of gaming income generated by 45 [electronic gaming machines].”
After purchasing the property in 1999, the Finnings embarking on a multimillion-dollar redevelopment between 2003 and 2010, which included rebuilding the accommodation and developing the restaurant, which is currently operating as the Gallery.
They plan on retaining their other hotel interest, the Settlement hotel in Cranbourne.
“It’s hard to see it go, but I am sure Dave and his team at the Black Rhino Group will enjoy it as much as we did,” Mr Finning said.
Craig’s Royal Hotel was built during the Victorian gold rush and was originally known as the Ballarat and then Bath’s Hotel, after its original owner Thomas Bath. It was the first hotel in Ballarat to be granted a liquor licence.
Mr Bath sold the property in 1857 to Walter Craig and the hotel changed its name to Craig’s. The hotel became Craig’s Royal Hotel following a 1867 visit from Prince Alfred, the first of many members of the royal family to visit Ballarat.
Other famous guests include former prime minister Robert Menzies, cricketing legend Don Bradman, writer Mark Twain and opera singer Dame Nellie Melba, who famously performed from the hotel’s balcony.
The Melbourne Racing Club and the Ballarat Horticultural Society were both formed at the property, and in 1855 the royal commission into the Eureka Stockade uprising was conducted there.
