Harvest Hotels launches $50m fund to buy South Australian pubs

A $50 million equity raise is behind the launch of regional hotel property portfolio manager Harvest Hotel’s latest fund which is looking to buy up large format pubs in suburban Adelaide.

The fund - Harvest Hotel’s third - will launch tomorrow, and marks the company’s expansion out of regional New South Wales and into the South Australian pub market.

Founded in 2014 by publicans Chris Cornforth and Fraser Haughton, Harvest Hotels operates $182 million worth of regional pub assets in NSW via Harvest Pub Funds 1 and 2.

The company currently has a footprint that covers Tamworth, Dubbo, Wagga Wagga, Albury and The Central Coast, with the acquisition strategy focused on acquiring underdeveloped, large format pubs in high-growth centres.

Venues under management include Brady’s Railway Hotel in Albury, the Milestone Hotel in Dubbo, The Courthouse Hotel in Tamworth, the William Farrer in Wagga Wagga and the Woy Woy Hotel in Woy Woy, NSW.

Harvest is aiming to grow the third fund’s assets under management to $250 million over its planned three to five year lifespan and cash yield of 8 per cent per annum paid quarterly to investors.

Cornforth explains the group’s track record of acquiring, improving and optimising pubs, together with a new market and a well-resourced team has instilled the fund’s investors and advisors with confidence in the South Australian market.

“We commenced the due diligence process of entering the South Australian market over 12 months ago. Through our discussions with quality operators, suppliers, and locals we’ve gained a solid understanding of the market and its demands,” Cornforth said.

“We have identified how we can adopt our current operations to capitalise on the availability of high-quality pub assets in our key target regions.

“We have a highly skilled team that are driven to create iconic pub experiences for the patrons and communities in which we will operate, and we’re confident this will ultimately generate the best results for our investors. We look forward to expanding the Harvest operation into South Australia in the coming months.”