Sydney Roosters chairman Nick Politis has sold the Treetops Tavern on the Gold Coast for $50 million, marking a record price for a Queensland pub and a significant return on his investment.
Politis originally purchased the Burleigh Waters venue a decade ago for $20 million through a syndicate of three investors. The property has now been sold to Sun Treetops Tavern Pty Ltd, an Australian-Chinese group directed by Paul Jian-Bo Xu, David Lai, Jian Feng Li and Xiao Sun.
The sprawling venue includes a sports bar, dining areas and a Cellarbrations drive-through bottle shop, and the sale reflects strong investor demand for hotel assets. The transaction, brokered off-market by HTL Property managing director Andrew Jolliffe, is believed to be the highest price achieved for a pub in the state, with approval still pending.
Despite the sale, Politis continues to expand his footprint in southeast Queensland through his SEQ Hospitality Group, which owns eight hotels and 20 bottle shops. His holdings include venues such as the Caxton Hotel in Brisbane, acquired last year for close to $50 million.
Jolliffe said the deal highlighted sustained interest in the sector. “Investor appetite for the traditional hotel asset class transcends geographical guidelines, and we have seen this thematic play out consistently for the past two years,” he said.
He added that strong market conditions were driving prices higher, noting, “Nothing restricts value growth like an illiquid market, and history has shown the intrinsic financial benefits regarding both the prevalence and consistency of an equal number of willing buyers and sellers.”
The sale comes amid a broader surge in pub transactions nationwide, with deals approaching $2 billion this financial year as investors pursue steady returns from food, beverage and gaming revenue streams.
Source: The Australian.
