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A certified valuer will listen to your situation and answer any questions you may have, at no cost.
A heritage corner pub in Port Adelaide, a gaming hotel in the northern suburbs or a sporting club in the southern suburbs can each carry several assets in one sale, and every one of them is valued on its own evidence before the figures are added together.
Valuing an Adelaide hotel or club starts by pulling apart what is actually being sold: the trading business, the liquor licence, any gaming machine entitlements and, where it is owned, the freehold. Sales of comparable venues, read as multiples of maintainable earnings, lead for the business, and the licence, the gaming position and the property are each assessed separately so no part is counted twice.
Hotel valuations are typically commissioned when a leasehold business or a freehold going concern is about to change hands, when a shareholder in the hotel company wants out, when a bank reviews a facility secured over the venue, or when a property settlement in the Adelaide registry of the Federal Circuit and Family Court needs a figure at a fixed date. Club committees ask for one when a merger with another club is on the table, when surplus land might be sold, or before a large redevelopment.
Almost every one of those cases turns on the same issue. An asking price usually wraps the trade, the licence, the gaming entitlements and the building into one number, and a buyer, lender or court will want to see each piece on its own. Taking them apart is the bulk of the job.
A certified valuer will listen to your situation and answer any questions you may have, at no cost.
The Market Approach carries the most weight. South Australian hotels sell often enough, through specialist hotel brokers and under the eye of the lenders who fund them, that recorded sales are better evidence than any forecast.
We sort sales first by the interest that changed hands, because a freehold going concern, a leasehold business and a sale of gaming machine entitlements on their own are different deals. We then narrow by venue type, location, licence class and trading hours, the number of gaming machines the venue holds entitlements for, and the split between front bar, dining, bottle shop, accommodation and gaming, and read every price against maintainable earnings.
The gaming position is analysed on its own. How durable that income is depends on the entitlements held, the conditions on the venue's approval and the responsible gambling obligations on the operator, none of which touch the food and beverage trade.
Sustainable earnings are capitalised after the licensee's own hours are costed at the salary of a venue manager and, where the operator also owns the building, after a market rent is charged. That draws a line between what the trade earns and what the property earns.
Cellar, bar, kitchen and bottle shop plant, accommodation fit-out and gaming equipment are valued at market, and the liquor licence and gaming entitlements are added as separate assets. In a hotel with weak trading figures the entitlements alone can be worth more than the business, and the report shows it.
A reviewing valuer looks at these adjustments before anything else, so every one is set out in the report with its reason. For Adelaide pubs, hotels and clubs they commonly include:
In South Australia liquor and gaming sit under one regulator. The Liquor and Gambling Commissioner, working through Consumer and Business Services, grants and transfers liquor licences under the Liquor Licensing Act 1997 (SA) and administers gaming machine licences under the Gaming Machines Act 1992 (SA). A venue is worth what its licences currently permit, so the report records the licence class, the trading hours, the number of gaming machines the venue may operate and any conditions before a single comparable sale is chosen.
Gaming machine entitlements usually draw the most attention from buyers. In South Australia entitlements are held separately from the hotel and can be bought and sold through a regulated trading system, so their price is set partly outside any one venue. In many suburban hotels in Salisbury, Elizabeth, Modbury, Marion and the outer south, the gaming room carries a large share of total value, which is why we never let it disappear into a single goodwill number.
Location divides the rest of the market. CBD hotels on Hindley Street, Rundle Street and around the Square Mile trade on office workers, students and visitors; pubs in North Adelaide and along the Adelaide Oval walk fill on match days; Glenelg and the beachside suburbs trade with the seasons; heritage hotels in Port Adelaide and the country pubs of the Barossa and Clare Valley lean on dining and accommodation. Nationally the number of accommodation and food services businesses grew by just 1.3 per cent in 2025 to 2026 (Source: ABS, Counts of Australian Businesses, July 2022 to June 2026, released 18 August 2026), so this is a mature trade where buyers price each venue on its own footing rather than on growth in the sector.
The report sets out the purpose, the standard of value, the valuation date and the material relied on, noting what was missing. It then explains each approach considered, the method used, every adjustment to earnings and why it was made, and how the results were weighed into a range, in terms a non-specialist can follow.
Hotel and club valuations attract hard scrutiny because the sums are large and the mix of assets is complicated. Whether the venue sits at the centre of a shareholder dispute in the Supreme Court of South Australia, a partnership claim in the District Court of South Australia or a refinance before a bank's credit committee, the first question is usually how much of the price is gaming and how much is trade. Our reports are prepared in line with APESB, APES 225 Valuation Services and signed by a certified valuer who will explain that split and defend it.
How will the gaming entitlements be separated from goodwill, and what evidence will support each number? If the answer is a single combined figure, the analysis has not been done.
An Indicative valuation suits a licensee considering an approach from a hotel group or weighing whether to sell a leasehold. It is for internal decision-making and is not written for third party reliance. A Summary report suits the sale or purchase of a leasehold business or a freehold going concern, a lease renewal or a refinance. A Detailed report is needed for a shareholder dispute, a family law matter, a club merger or an insurance claim, where another expert will probably examine the opinion.
Consider every reader, not just yourself. Where a court, the ATO, a lender or the other side's valuer will probe the figure, the report must carry enough reasoning to meet their questions.
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.