This Month
Long-time publican back in the game with near-$15m coastal pub buy
Rod “Ned” Kelly, who once worked with prolific investors like John Singleton and Mark Carnegie, is jumping back into the pub space with his latest seaside buy.
January
Laundys hope to turn ‘pub test’ nous into radio empire gold
The billionaire family told staff at Sydney’s 2GB and Melbourne’s 3AW that they were “long-time listeners, first time owners” after acquiring Nine Radio.
Private equity giant snaps up Sydney venues amid roaring pubs trade
Australian Venue Co is controlled by US and Hong Kong private equity. Foreign investors are showing increasing interest in Australia’s buoyant pubs sector.
Four of bankrupt publican Jon Adgemis’ venues sell for $130m
The former KPMG dealmaker-turned-publican was declared bankrupt last year after accumulating $1.8 billion in debts building up his hospitality empire.
Travel ban slapped on pub director entangled in $245m tax scam
Mark Toma, former director of collapsed hospitality group Virtical, is appealing ATO orders that he can’t leave the country.
Laundys snap up $13m NSW Riverina pub despite ‘too much red tape’
Headed by Arthur Laundy, the family has struck its first pub deal for 2026. But the billionaire hotelier says there are plenty of reasons to be cautious.
Pub siblings in spat over Gold Coast apartment
Four siblings of the De Angelis Sydney pub family are fighting over a Gold Coast apartment they have owned together for more than 15 years.
Hrdlicka’s first move at Endeavour looks like $5-pint night
To take investors to the promised land, the new chief executive has pulled out one of the oldest tricks in the book: cheap beer.
Nanny-state health-and-safety fascism is shutting down British pubs
To drive around England, urban and rural, these days is to see an epidemic of recently closed boozers.
Brawl over Sorrento pub ownership draws in billionaire Smorgon family
Julian Gerner, a well-known Melbourne hotelier, is suing a consortium backed by the billionaires claiming it duped him out of his share of the Continental.
December 2025
The two states where old pubs could be revived next year
The market has gone from strength to strength, particularly in NSW and Queensland. Property experts expect the sector to continue growing into 2026.
Zagame family sells popular Melbourne venue for $35m to Charter Hall
It’s Victoria’s biggest pub deal for the year and comes as institutional investors pour into the buoyant sector.
Why Jeremy Clarkson is calling last drinks for MPs
The popular TV personality has joined a nationwide ban of Labour MPs in pubs calling out the government for ignoring the struggling hospitality sector.
A century later, former Lendlease executive buys back the family pub
Stephen McMillan and his brother Scott, who until recently led ASX-listed Alliance Aviation, have bought a pub run by their grandmother in the 1920s.
Major pub owners in push to build apartments above venues
Long the heart of local community life, pubs and their prize real estate could also help ease the housing squeeze, say the nation’s biggest pub owners.
November 2025
Tabcorp bonuses for big betting pubs revealed in confidential briefing
The strategy presented to hoteliers and clubs says the bookmaker will set aside $50 million for betting inducements and $80 million to overhaul its terminals.
Sydney pub sells for $75m in the second-largest deal of 2025
The pubs sector is on a roll as big players bet on long-term growth despite young people drinking less. With fewer opportunities to invest, prices are rising.
This $4.5m pile of rubble has secured $135m in Adgemis debt
A new court-appointed trustee has detailed its attempts at checking the bankrupt businessman’s wealth and lifestyle since the collapse of his pub empire.
AFL players team up for pub deal in Melbourne’s west
A pub group involving high-profile AFL midfielder Tom Liberatore has bought its third venue and promises to bring the spirit of country pubs to the city.
Laundys sell pub on NSW’s Central Coast for $18.5 million
Arthur Laundy and his daughter and son-in-law, Justine and Nick Tindall, have sold the West Gosford venue after nearly a decade of ownership.
