Patrick Gallagher and his wife Angela are the new owners of The Oaks Hotel, which has sold for $140m. Picture: Britta Campion
The Oaks Hotel, in Neutral Bay, has sold for $140m – the second highest price ever paid for a hotel in the country.
Patrick and Angela Gallagher, who own Jacksons on George and a string of other Sydney pubs, are the new owners of the Military Rd hotel which is something of an institution on the Lower North Shore.
Patrick Gallagher, who runs the family-owned hospitality business Gallagher Hotels with his wife, Angela, said the purchase was the pinnacle of his career in the hospitality industry.
The Oaks has been owned by the Thomas family since 1975 and comprises the Taffy Bar, 30 pokies in a gaming room, a large beer garden with famed jacaranda tree, function spaces and an up-market bottle shop.
The hotel came to market four years ago with a $175m asking price and some high-profile buyers were rumoured to be interested including British chef Rick Stein who owns property nearby, billionaire Justin Hemmes and a local movie producer. However, it is believed negotiations broke down over the price.
MORE:
Neale Whitaker doubles his money on South Coast property
Gallagher Hotels has bought the Oaks Hotel in Neutral Bay
MORE: ‘Sad, sterile’: Married At First Sight’s secret sight revealed
JLL Hotels agents John Musca and Ben McDonald got the deal over the line selling the famous venue to second generation publicans the Gallagher family.
The Oaks is situated on a corner position on 2188sq m land with planning guidelines that could allow up to five-storeys of development.
Thomas family spokesman Andrew Thomas said in a statement it was the right time for the family to move on and the Gallagher family were the right custodians to pass the baton to.
“The Oaks is one of a kind and has been an enormous part of our family history,” Mr Thomas junior said in his statement.
Selling agent Mr Musca said that The Oaks stood out as the most coveted traditional hotel in the country.
MORE: Jackie O’s cunning $30m exit plan amid Kyle split
The Oaks is situated on a corner position on 2188sq m land.
MORE:
Eileen Bond sells for whopper price
“Hotel trade more broadly continues to show unbridled year-on-year growth, outperforming most other retail and service sectors and continuing to enjoy some of the highest barriers to entry for any business category in the country,” according to JLL Hotels.
Gallagher Hotel Management chief executive Patrick Gallagher said the family was very excited about such a milestone acquisition.
Mr Gallagher paid about $20m for Jacksons on George last year and own and operate 13 pubs around Sydney including five PJs Gallagher’s Irish Pubs, French-inspired venues the Union Hotel, Le Pub CBD and Le Pub Balmain, the Belgian Beer Cafe Heritage, Springwood Oriental Hotel, the Hunters Hill Hotel, Longueville Hotel and the Liverpool Hotel.
The Crossroads Hotel’s $160m sale holds the Aussie record. Picture: Richard Dobson
The sale is equal second biggest in Australia along with the Byron Bay’s Beach Hotel which sold last year and behind the $160m sale of The Crossroads Hotel in Sydney in April 2022.
MORE: Djokovic to challenge Federer in $500m retirement battle
Kick everybody out’: the pub baron now taking over radio