Paddington's Grand National Hotel sold for $7.25m

Demand for pubs outside the Sydney CBD lockout zone is on the ascendancy, with more than $150 million of assets changing hands in the past few months.

The Grand National Hotel, at 161 Underwood Street, Paddington, was sold for $7.25 million to a private investor.

Several bars and clubs have closed since the NSW government last year introduced measures to counteract alcohol-fuelled violence - including 1.30am lockouts and 3am last drinks - across a designated Sydney CBD entertainment precinct, which stretches from parts of Surry Hills and Darlinghurst to The Rocks, and from Kings Cross to Cockle Bay.

The lockout laws, low interest rate environment and investor appetite for higher-yielding assets have boosted demand for pubs outside the exclusion zone.

One of the latest sales is of Paddington institution, the Grand National Hotel, known as the Nash, which sold for $7.25 million to an Eastern suburbs-based private investor who is likely to join the craze to add apartments upstairs.

The private vendor group had undertaken a significant renovation of the Grand National and is now looking for fresh investment opportunities.

Source : Sydney Morning Herald  Carolyn Cummins  May 21st 2015