Pub veteran John Ryan has splashed out more than $70 million for the Tea Gardens pub in Sydney’s east in what is the largest deal this year in the booming hotel sector.

It will add it to his stable of Sydney pubs, including Ryan’s Bar, Paragon Hotel, The Ship Inn and The Orient Hotel. The Purkis family have owned Tea Gardens for 10 years, having bought it in 2014 for $36 million.

Located in Sydney’s bustling Bondi Junction near Westfield Bondi and the Easts club, it is set over two levels, exceeding 800 square metres of space, including outdoor areas, a highly sought after balcony, large kitchen operation and 30 gaming machines.

“We have thoroughly enjoyed our time owning and operating this significant hotel, and wish the Ryan family every success moving forward,” John Purkis said.

Ryan will look at the pub when he gets the keys and then decide if any changes are needed.

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HTL Property managing director Andrew Jolliffe advised on the sale at a time when the pub sector has come back to life with more than $1 billion in sales so far this year.

“Bondi Junction is, in and of itself, a bustling CBD and in the sparsely represented hotel landscape that is Sydney’s eastern suburbs, the Tea Gardens enjoy an iconic status,” Jolliffe said.

He said the deal was concluded over a “series of discreet discussions held over a very short period of time, has led to the largest single pub sale nationally for 2024”.