Sydney’s All Hands brewpub sold for AUD 20 million

Australia | Melbourne-based hospitality entrepreneurs Brad Harris and James Sinclair have acquired the All Hands Brewing House in Darling Harbour for AUD 20 million (USD 13 million), media reported on 18 February 2020.

It is an indication of how profitable brewpubs can be, if run well, that more hospitality firms are now moving into the sector. Messrs Harris and Sinclair own the Signature Hospitality Group, which operates The Sporting Globe and TGI Fridays chains, as well as Foresters Restaurant and Bar in Brisbane, and the WJ Wills eatery in South Melbourne, per Australian Financial Review, a newspaper.

All Hands, which sits on Sydney’s Darling Harbour, was voted “best independent brewery” in New South Wales in 2019 by the Independent Brewers Association.

The price may seem high, but …

It is a large venue, seating more than 500 people. Insiders say that it has a 12 hl brewhouse and probably sells 50 kegs of its own beer each week. Gross profit on a keg is AUD 500, which puts the gross profit for the brewery’s beer alone at AUD 1.25 million (USD 820,000) each year. Add to that the profit made from other drinks and food, and the transaction price appears modest.

To put this into perspective: the going rate for pubs with a gambling licence in Sydney is AUD 50 million (USD 33 million), from what we hear.

The vendor was Paul O’Brien’s Red Rock Leisure Group, owner of the PJ O'Brien's chain of Irish-themed pubs, as well as other venues across the country.

Same site, different operators

Darling Harbour’s All Hands, opened in 2004 with a microbrewery on site, and was rebuilt in 2017. It was originally a James Squire brewpub, before changing hands and names a number of times.

Australia will also have its first airport brewery, located in Terminal 3 at Melbourne Airport. The brewpub will be operated by the local Stomping Ground brewery in conjunction with hospitality group Delaware North.

The number of craft breweries continues to rise in Australia. Preliminary figures for 2019 indicate that 96 new craft breweries joined the list last year, taking the total up to 717 craft breweries.