Paddy Coughlan buys Newtown pub, The Botany View Hotel

Paddy Coughlan buys Newtown pub, The Botany View Hotel
Jonathan ChancellorDecember 7, 2020

Sydney publican Paddy Coughlan has acquired The Botany View Hotel in Newtown for $6.4 million in the latest sign of strong demand for inner city food and beverage pubs.

The BVH, as it is affectionately known, is situated at the southern end of King Street.

It boasts an expansive two-level trading footprint, extended trading hours and a first floor beer garden with a 2am license approval.

CBRE Hotels' Sam Handy and Daniel Dragicevich negotiated the sale on behalf of the Murphy family who have owned and operated the pub for the past 26 years.

The deal marks the third inner west pub acquisition for Mr Coughlan, who recently acquired the Lady Hampshire in Camperdown and the Lord Gladstone in Chippendale. It comes at a time when the private equity backed Riversdale Group, a business that Coughlan founded (and is still an investor in), seeks an exit with the group's assets being sold down for significant premiums.

Coughlan said he'd noticed a real shift in recent years, with many Newtown locals gravitating towards the southern end of King Street.

"The recent acquisition of the Sydney Park Hotel by Ray Reilly and the Queen Victoria Hotel by Justin Hemmes has highlighted this migration trend.”

Mr Coughlan added that he would look to replicate the success that had been achieved at the Lord Gladstone with a revised food and beverage proposition at the Botany View.

CBRE Director Sam Handy noted that the sale follows a spate of bullish food and beverage pub sales within inner Sydney, most of which have been transacted through CBRE Hotels.

These sales include the Winery (Surry Hills), Cargo Bar (Darling Harbour), the Sydney Park Hotel (Newtown) and the Trinity Bar (Surry Hills).

Jonathan Chancellor

Jonathan Chancellor is one of Australia's most respected property journalists, having been at the top of the game since the early 1980s. Jonathan co-founded the property industry website Property Observer and has written for national and international publications.

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