Pub veteran Arthur Laundy has snapped up the Hunts Hotel in Sydney’s west as the major players in the sector pivot from running hotels to buying greenfield developments that offer significant growth opportunities.

The pub, which sits opposite the large-scale Crossroads Hotel at Casula was sold for around $45 million by the long-time private owner as a vacant possession and will be added to the Laundy family’s vast portfolio.

Hunts Hotel at 2415 Camden Valley Road, sits on 21,420 square metres, and comes with conference facilities, 140 accommodation rooms, a ballroom, tennis courts, restaurants and gaming room.

Laundy intends to redevelop the Hunt Hotel site as he has done with his Marsden Brewhouse at Marsden Park. He said that greenfield developments offer solid income potential as the property can be tailored specifically to meet the demands of the surrounding catchment area.

He bought the Marsden Park pub for $45 million and has built a site that offers an array of conference rooms and a brewery. Laundy is also in a consortium that is redeveloping the Log Cabin Hotel, in Penrith.

JLL hotels & hospitality senior vice president, Ben McDonald, who advised on the sale of the Hunts pub, said the race by hoteliers to develop greenfield pubs in growth locations is a key investment theme in the sector.

“The rewards are not only for publicans brave enough to undertake such projects but for the local communities that stand to benefit from the increased amenity these new pubs seek to offer.”

JLL Hotels senior vice president Ben McDonald

He said that while developing a new pub comes with its own set of complexities including site identification, navigating respective council, legislative requirements and the acquisition costs, “the rewards can be many”.

“The rewards are not only for publicans brave enough to undertake such projects but for the local communities that stand to benefit from the increased amenity these new pubs seek to offer,” McDonald said.