Justin Hemmes buys Mascot pub for $37.5m

A record price has been set for a freehold hotel sale at public auction with Justin Hemmes buying the Tennyson Hotel in Mascot for a whopping $37.5m.

His Merivale company is expected to redevelop the pub to take advantage of the booming residential property market surrounding the pub, including the Green Square development.

Merivale has recently revamped the Newport Arms and Paddington Arms and is currently updating beloved Alexandria Hotel.

The SMH notes: "It will cement the Merivale chain owner's presence in Sydney's suburban pub market, which is unaffected by the city-zoned lockout drinking regulations."

Ray White Hotels Asia-Pacific director Andrew Jolliffe said bidding for the Tennyson was "spirited."

"Justin Hemmes completely dominated the 250-person crowd," he told the SMH.

"The hotel, even in its currently unrenovated state, attracts in excess of $8 million in annual receipts from predominantly high gross profit margin revenue centres."

It's been a big week for pub sales, with Jolliffe selling Queensland's largest hotel, The Acacia Ridge in Brisbane, to a Sydney-based fund for about $26m. Jolliffe also announced this week that he's handling the sale of John Singleton's the Marlborough Hotel in Newtown and Kinselas Hotel in Darlinghurst.

"The confluence of the historically low interest rate cycle, ready availability of senior debt, the low Australian dollar driving inbound revenues and the strength of weekly cash receipts when collectively distilled, render the opportunity to acquire A-grade hospitality property wholly compelling," Jolliffe concluded.