Laundy family buy Strawberry Hills Hotel
The Hargreaves family has ended its 32-year ownership of the Strawberry Hills Hotel.
The freehold going concern at 451-455 Elizabeth Street, Surry Hills, curried favour with local operators Danielle Richardson, daughter of pub operator Arthur Laundy, and her husband, Shane who jointly oversee Laundy Hotels’ NSW operations.
The outlay is speculated to be $30 million.
On the corner of Devonshire St, less than 200 metres from Central Station, the two-level property contains a ground-floor public bar, bistro and gaming room with 26 electronic gambling machines.
A first-floor alfresco drinking and dining area also forms part of the operation.
The hotel was acquired by the late Margaret Hargreaves in 1994 – the freehold cost for $1.47m – about a decade after she began building the family’s pub interests through the nearby Shakespeare Hotel.
End of an era
Ms Hargreaves began operating the Shakespeare in 1975, initially leasing the Devonshire St hotel before buying its freehold in 1978.
That freehold going concern sold in 2024, for c$10m. The freehold cost $3.53m.
That buyer was Laurence Collins who also owns the leasehold to Balmain’s The London Hotel.
Ms Hargreaves died in July 2025, having retained the heritage-listed Strawberry Hills Hotel until her death.
The hotel dates to 1844, though the present building was developed in 1921. The style is Interwar.
Council records show alterations and additions were approved in 2008, including an upgrade of the ground and first-floor hospitality areas, a new gaming room, outdoor terrace and roof plant room.
The estimated development cost was $2.87m (continues below).
JLL Hotels and Hospitality Group’s Kate MacDonald and Ben McDonald negotiated the latest sale.
The Richardsons are expected to move in before Christmas.
Woolloomooloo hotel offered for first time in 50 years
Meanwhile the East Sydney Hotel, formerly known as the Shamrock Hotel, has been listed for the first time in 50 years.
The c1856 heritage-listed Woolloomooloo pub at 64-66 Crown Street is being offered as a freehold going concern.
The property is held by ESHOC Pty Ltd.
The freehold last sold in 2013 for $2.4m.
Before that it traded in 1982 for $300,000.
Ms McDonald with Edward Browne, the agents, describe the property as “the last country pub in Sydney”.
With a bar, bistro, function areas and 10 accommodation rooms, annual revenue is c$1.9m, they added.
The property is permit-ready for a first-floor rooftop courtyard.
The hotel is about a kilometre east of the CBD walking distance of St James, Kings Cross and Martin Place stations.
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