Ancient Briton pub owners call last drinks after 25 years

The long-time owners of the popular Ancient Briton pub in Sydney’s inner west are the latest to take advantage of the demand for the sector, which has seen close to $2 billion worth of assets change hand in the past year.

Having owned and operated the AB, as it’s known by locals, the private Seeto family have opted to test the waters for the 225 Glebe Point Road pub after having fielded “numerous” unsolicited offers.

The patriarch Victor Seeto said it was a “unanimous resolution from within the family that it’s time to sell”.

“It’s hard to believe that our family has owned and operated the AB Hotel for almost a quarter of a century,” Seeto said.

“It holds a special place in our family’s heart, but it’s time to pass the torch onto another hotelier with fresh energy and focus that can elevate the hotel to its rightful place within the local community.”

It was a unanimous resolution from within the family that it’s time to sell.

Ancient Briton owner Victor Seeto

The most recent sale in Glebe was by former Qantas chief executive Geoff Dixon of his popular Nag’s Head pub for around $12 million to the Momento Hospitality group. In July former Wallabies front rower Bill Young added to his family’s pub empire with the purchase of the popular Glebe watering hole, the Friend in Hand, for an estimated price of $10 million.

No price was disclosed for the AB, but similar assets with upgrade potential on high traffic routes have traded for as much as $28 million.

HTL Property’s Sam Handy, Dan Dragicevich and Andrew Jolliffe are advising the Seeto family and said the higher price expectation is due to the AB’s 481 square metre land holding and its multiple floors at the corner of Bridge Street and Glebe Point Road.