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A certified valuer will listen to your situation and answer any questions you may have, at no cost.
A hotel at Kiama or Shellharbour, a pub near the Wollongong CBD or a registered club in the northern or southern Illawarra can each bundle several assets into one sale, and every one is valued on its own evidence before the figures are added together.
Pubs, hotels and clubs in the Illawarra are valued by pricing each interest in the venue separately: the trade, the liquor licence, any gaming entitlements and the freehold. Venue sales are the lead evidence for the trade, and the parts are then reconciled into a total that makes sense for a buyer.
Most requests come from a sale or a dispute. A publican is considering an approach from a group buying hotels. The board of a registered club is weighing a merger or a redevelopment and wants an independent figure. Two licensees who bought a hotel together are parting. A lender funding a purchase wants the trade, licence and property separated. Or an estate holds a hotel and the executors need a value at the date of death.
Because several interests are tied together, venues are easy to misprice. A freehold bought for its land can mask a trade that earns little, and a strong bar or gaming trade can be undermined by a lease or licence condition. Valuing each interest separately shows where the price is really coming from.
A certified valuer will listen to your situation and answer any questions you may have, at no cost.
The Market Approach leads, but only on like-for-like sales. Hotel and club transactions are fewer than cafe or shop sales, so every sale used is checked for what was actually sold: trade only, trade and licence, or trade, licence and freehold.
We compare on venue type, location, the mix of bar, dining, accommodation, bottle shop and gaming income, trading history and tenure. Evidence from other parts of New South Wales is used with care and adjusted, because trade in a coastal regional market is not the same as trade elsewhere.
Where the venue's trade is steady and well documented, capitalised earnings give a cross-check. Where a redevelopment, refurbishment or licence change is expected, a discounted cash flow shows when the cost and the benefit land, which a simple multiple cannot.
Earnings are restated with a licensee's wage, award staffing over a full year and market rent charged, and income by stream is shown separately so the buyer can see what each part of the venue contributes.
The freehold, where included, is valued as property on its own evidence, and plant, fit-out and stock at realisable value. The trade value is then tested against what the property alone would be worth.
A reviewing valuer reads these adjustments before anything else, so each is shown with its reason. For hotels, pubs and clubs the usual ones are:
Venues across the Illawarra trade on different bases. Pubs and hotels in and around the Wollongong CBD draw regular local trade and the evening economy; hotels at Kiama and Shellharbour lean on visitors and weekends; and suburban pubs at Dapto, Unanderra and Albion Park Rail rely on residents. Registered clubs are a separate case, because they are member-based organisations and are regulated differently from a hotel.
Liquor and gaming in New South Wales are regulated by Liquor & Gaming NSW. A buyer needs to know what the licence permits and its conditions, and for any gaming machines which entitlements are held and what restrictions apply. We check those points against the documents for the specific venue and do not assume that a licence or entitlement will transfer on the terms the seller expects. Payroll tax under the Payroll Tax Act 2007 (NSW) can also apply to a venue with a large wage bill, so it is checked in the cost base.
Hospitality is a slow-growth sector: accommodation and food services businesses grew by 1.3 per cent nationally in 2025 to 2026 (Source: ABS, Counts of Australian Businesses, July 2022 to June 2026, released 18 August 2026). A buyer therefore looks to the venue's own trade, licence and property, not to market growth, to carry the price.
The report sets out the purpose, standard of value, valuation date and the records relied on, then deals with each interest in turn: the trade, the licence and any entitlements, the freehold and the plant. Each normalisation adjustment is shown with its reason, and the interests are reconciled into a total with the weighting explained.
Challenge usually comes from the split between interests, such as how much of the price is trade and how much is property, or why a licence was valued as it was. Matters can reach the District Court at Wollongong, the Supreme Court of New South Wales in Sydney or, in a property settlement, the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia, and the Expert Witness Code of Conduct in the court rules binds the expert. Our reports follow APESB, APES 225 Valuation Services and are signed by a certified valuer. Where a freehold is to be valued, we say whether a specialist property valuer is needed.
Which interest in the venue is the hardest to value, and what evidence will you use for it? A good answer names the sales and the documents, not a rule of thumb.
An Indicative valuation suits an owner or board weighing an approach or deciding whether to sell. It is for internal decision-making and is not written for third party reliance. A Summary report is usual for a sale, a partner buy-out or a bank. A Detailed report is needed for an estate, a dispute or a property settlement, or where another expert will review it.
The purpose settles the depth. Where a lender, a court or the ATO may rely on the number, the full reasoning should be recorded.
For internal decision-making. Useful for testing an offer, setting an expectation before a negotiation, or deciding whether to go to market. It is not written for third party reliance.
Sets out the approaches applied, the normalisation adjustments made and the reasoning behind the conclusion. The usual choice for a sale, an ownership change or a finance application.
Applies and reconciles all relevant approaches in full. The level required where a court, the ATO, a lender or another expert will review the opinion.
Talk your situation through with a certified valuer before you commit to anything, at no cost.