Budding pub baron John Azar has added to his growing The Good Beer Company empire, purchasing the Commodore Hotel at McMahons Point.
It’s the second time the pub has sold in less than three years, with Azar’s The Good Beer Company picking it up for $18.5million in an off-market transaction.
The pub, located on Blues Point Road, was last purchased by Graham Campion in late 2016 from Lantern Hotels for $14.5 million.
The acquisition follows The Good Beer Company’s high-profile purchase of Paddington’s Four In Hand Hotel in 2018.
It followed a community campaign to keep the pub operating and save it from redevelopment.
Azar also owns Randwick’s Duke of Gloucester Hotel and the Keg & Brew Hotel at Surry Hills, which is close to completing a $10 million refurbishment.
The Duke of Gloucester Hotel is currently on the market with a $30 million price tag. Good Beer bought the pub in 2015 for about $17 million and undertook a $3.5 million renovation, refurbishment and reconfiguration.
The Commodore Hotel changed hands in a transaction negotiated by John Musca, national director of JLL’s hotels and hospitality group.
“The purchase will provide us with a springboard into the lower north shore residential and business communities,” said Azar.
“I have long admired the Commodore and have been monitoring the opportunity to add such a well-established and highly performing asset to our group of properties.
“Our plan will be to reinvigorate what the Commodore offers in terms of delivering a first-class, affordable and quality beverage and food experience reflecting the success we have achieved at our other hotels.”
