One of Western Australia’s most iconic pubs, the Roebuck Bay Hotel in Broome’s famed Chinatown district, is being offered for sale for the first time in decades.
Founded in 1890, the hotel was first opened to encourage pearling crews to remain in Broome after months at sea and has since grown into one of the largest venues in WA’s North West, providing live music, accommodation, dining and entertainment to locals and tourists.
CBRE’s Ryan McGinnity and Derek Barlow have been appointed to market the property, affectionately known as “The Roey”, with Expressions of Interest closing 1st of September 2022.
Ryan McGinnity said the sale offered the opportunity for new owners to make their mark on a venue that was embedded in the state’s history books.
“Many venues are listed as iconic; few can truly claim to be that, but The Roey can. Anyone who has been to Broome has probably had a beer in the sports bar, enjoyed a meal at Pearlers, or if staying long into the night would have witnessed their Thursday night competitions, which have been famously running since the 1970’s,” Mr McGinnity said.
“With weekly revenue approaching $400,000, we expect to see interest from owners and operators all over Australia and potentially overseas. While east coast groups don’t always look at WA pubs, this is a once in a generation opportunity to purchase an iconic asset in one of Australia’s best tourism towns.”
The hotel comprises a Bottlemart drive thru bottle shop, Pearlers Bar and Bistro, modern sports bar, outdoor entertainment venue the Oasis Bar, plus motel and backpackers’ accommodation.
It currently generates approximately 80% of its income from a small part of the total 12,000sqm land holding. Mr Barlow added that being a large site, further development was possible to capitalise on the property’s position in the heart of Chinatown, whether that be commercial use, tourism or upgrading the existing accommodation.
“With accommodation occupancy rates approaching 100% on weekends and peak periods, development of new rooms is something that should be considered by any owner, to further profit from Australia’s domestic travel boom, which we expect Broome to be a beneficiary of for many years to come,” Mr Barlow said.
