No pokies: Paddington’s Captain Cook Hotel sells for half its 2022 price
Paddington’s Captain Cook Hotel has just sold to unnamed buyer for half the price pub baron Bruce Mathieson paid when he took it over.
Mathieson purchased the impressive four-level Federation building for $13 million in 2022 but put it back on the market four months ago.
This time around, the lower sale price accounts for the exclusion of the 15 poker machine entitlements that Mathieson bought with the pub.
The purchase price was $6.6 million facilitated by Bresic Whitney’s Shannan Whitney.
The new owners are expected to shut the 110-year-old pub and utilise the 22 backpacker-style rooms as a hostel. It’s unclear whether guests will still be able to utilise the rooftop terrace with sweeping views over Sydney.
Punters may be upset with the move as the pub, which was controversially rebranded as The Captain Paddington in 2020, is a popular destination on their way to the footy at Allianz Stadium or the SCG.
The Mathiesons changed the name back to its original name when they purchased. They will strip the Captain Cook of its pokies and move them where pokies are a bigger money-spinner.
Despite the sale, the Mathiseon family’s empire still includes a 15 per cent stake in Endeavour Group and ALH Group – Australia’s largest pub operator with more than 350 venues.
Jonathan Jackson, 17th July 2024
