New hands and old in $20m deal at Hugo’s Manly
Hugo’s, the popular waterfront restaurant on Sydney’s Manly Wharf, has new owners while retaining the same management, in a $20 million transaction that both sides hope will take the well-known hospitality brand into new ventures.
The buyer is ambitious hospitality investor Artemus Group, which already owns Manly Wharf, as well as Brisbane’s Howard Smith Wharves.
Hugo’s Group – run by David Corsi, David Evans and Daniel Vaughan – got its start by opening Hugo’s Bondi before going big in Kings Cross with high-profile nightspots Hugo’s Lounge and Hugo’s Bar Pizza in the early 2000s. More venues followed with Hugo’s Manly and Brighton’s Pantry in Melbourne.
But since that early success, Hugo’s Group has been forced to steadily whittle back its portfolio of venues. The sale of Hugo’s Manly leaves it with just Brighton’s Pantry, which is mainly run by the Melbourne-based Mr Vaughan. Mr Evans and Mr Corsi run the group’s Sydney-based businesses.
The site for Hugo’s Manly and the hospitality business sold for a combined figure of about $20 million, according to sources with knowledge of the deal but not authorised to speak publicly.
Hugo’s revival
The change of ownership of the Manly dining institution is being celebrated by both parties as a chance to revive the Hugo’s brand. Hugo’s Group has an agreement to collaborate with Artemus Group on future projects using its moniker. It will also continue to manage Hugo’s Manly.
“David Corsi and myself will continue to operate the restaurant day to day with all the same management and staff staying on board, and we’re looking forward to growing the Hugo’s brand into new sites,” Dave Evans said.
For Artemus – founded by Adam Flaskas and Paul Henry, with Luke Fraser as its chief executive – the acquisition gives it control over all but one of Manly Wharf’s venues. Merivale’s Queen Chow restaurant is the sole asset there not owned by the group.
“Hugo’s is a Manly institution and will remain the same as it is, and we’re excited to be working with Dave and David, who will continue to operate the business day to day and ‘business as usual’,” Mr Fraser said.
Artemus has big plans afoot at Manly Wharf. In September, it submitted development applications for a $120 million redevelopment that will replace the abandoned supermarket with a microbrewery and a pub.
The hospitality group has already invested heavily in rejuvenating Brisbane’s Howard Smith Wharves and has more development planned there, including a 77-room boutique hotel, riverside pool, retail space and a theatre hall, which will cost $500 million.
The Manly deal was brokered by HTL Property’s Andrew Jolliffe, who said the transaction was “appropriately unique” because the two hospitality groups would consider further joint ventures.
“Such is the level of reciprocal respect one another commands,” he said.
