Cullen Bullen's only pub listed for sale

An 1889-built hotel in Cullen Bullen, 124 kilometres inland from Sydney, has been listed for sale.

John Surian, director of Raine and Horne Parramatta, says the history of the pub, the only one in Cullen Bullen, dates back to the past century. 

According to a heritage study the rectangular Victorian-style hotel was built in two stages along roadside frontage.

“The first southern section of the hotel was constructed in 1890 of ashlar render with a dentilled parapet wall column and urn. A four-panelled doorway with double two-pane windows are visible at the skyline,” Coalpac’s heritage study says.

“The second section is simpler in design and consists of dry pressed brick with smaller pane windows. A two-storey Edwardian veranda continues along the entire street facing facade.”

Agent Mitchell Woods is asking $400,000 to $450,000 for the Royal Hotel premises (pictured below), giving a potential yield of around 8%.

The pub currently earns $36,703 per year on a 10-year lease expiring in 2019.

The vendors renovated the building three years ago, replacing the bathrooms, the main bar area, kitchen, cool room, beer lines and other auxiliary works.

The 1,461-square-metre hotel includes a main bar area, a cool room, bistro rooms and furniture, a kitchen, 10 rooms for accommodation, a laundry and a store room.

The town is the centre of local mining operations, with the major coal extractor in the area, Coalpac, recently applying for a 20-year extension of its licence. The town is also close to a power station.

Coalpac wants to expand its mining operations in the area, with plans to start open-cut coal mining in the Ben Bullen State Forest, which borders the Gardens of Stone National Park.

The plans would raze 10,000 hectares of forestland and is facing opposition from environmentalists.

Coalpac says if the plans don't go ahead, electricity prices are destined to rise.

The rent increases annually with CPI, and the tenant pays all the outgoings and maintenance.

A vacant block at the back of the property is included in the sale.

The pub last sold in 2003 for $375,000, according to RP Data.

According to the 2011 census, the town has a population of 183 people with 83 households.

Europeans first settled at Cullen Bullen with the 1815 construction of Cox’s Road across the Blue Mountains.