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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 hotel in Paddington, a suburban gaming tavern in Logan or a community club in Moreton Bay: each can hold several separate assets, and each one is priced on its own evidence before they are combined.
A Brisbane pub, hotel or club is valued by first separating what changes hands: the trading business, the liquor licence, any gaming machine approvals and, if it is owned, the freehold. Comparable venue sales, read as a multiple of maintainable earnings, lead for the business, while the licence, the gaming position and the property are each valued on their own so nothing is counted twice.
A hotel is usually valued when a leasehold business or a freehold going concern is about to be sold, when one shareholder in the hotel company wants to exit, when a lender reviews a facility secured over the venue, or when a property settlement in the Brisbane registry of the Federal Circuit and Family Court needs a figure at a fixed date. Club boards ask for one when an amalgamation with a nearby club is proposed, or before selling surplus land or other assets.
Nearly all of those situations come back to one question. The price put on a venue tends to roll the trade, the licence, the gaming position and the building into a single figure, and a buyer, bank or court will want each part identified. Separating them is most of the work.
A certified valuer will listen to your situation and answer any questions you may have, at no cost.
The Market Approach leads. Queensland hotels and taverns change hands regularly, through specialist brokers and with lenders watching closely, so sales evidence counts for more than any projection.
The first filter is the interest that was sold, because a freehold going concern, a leasehold business and a sale of gaming authorisations alone are different transactions. After that we narrow by venue type, location, licence type and approved trading hours, the number of gaming machines the venue is approved for, and the mix of bar, bistro, bottle shop, accommodation and gaming income, then read each price against maintainable earnings.
Gaming income gets its own analysis. Its durability depends on what the venue's gaming machine licence allows, how many machines it is approved to operate, the conditions attached and the harm-minimisation obligations on the operator, none of which affect the food and beverage trade.
We capitalise sustainable earnings after the licensee's own hours are costed as a salaried venue manager and, where the operator also owns the building, after charging a market rent. That separates what the trade earns from what the property earns.
Bar, cellar, kitchen and bottle shop plant, accommodation fit-out and gaming equipment are valued at market, with the liquor licence and the gaming position added as separate assets. In a venue with thin trading results the gaming position alone can be worth more than the business, and the report says so.
A reviewing valuer goes to these adjustments first, so each one is listed in the report with its reason. For Brisbane licensed venues they usually cover:
In Queensland one regulator covers both sides of a gaming venue. The Office of Liquor and Gaming Regulation (OLGR) issues and transfers liquor licences under the Liquor Act 1992 (Qld), setting the licence type, trading hours and conditions, and administers gaming machine licences under the Gaming Machine Act 1991 (Qld). The value of a venue depends on what the licences currently allow, so the report records the licence types, the number of machines the venue is approved to operate and any conditions before any comparable sale is chosen.
The gaming position is often the part of a Queensland hotel that buyers examine most closely. A gaming machine licence attaches to the premises and sets how many machines may be operated there, and the authorisations behind those machines are subject to OLGR approval when they are acquired, moved or sold. In many suburban taverns across Logan, Ipswich and Moreton Bay the gaming position carries a large share of the total value, which is why we never fold it into one goodwill figure.
Brisbane venues also vary sharply by location. A CBD or Eagle Street hotel trades on office workers, visitors and events; a Fortitude Valley venue on late-night and live music trade; a Milton or Paddington pub on match days at Lang Park and a local crowd; a suburban tavern on its bistro, bottle shop and gaming room. The national count of accommodation and food services businesses grew only 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 in which buyers price each venue on its own position rather than on sector growth.
The report sets out the purpose, the standard of value, the valuation date and the information we relied on, with any gaps noted. It explains the approaches considered, the method used under each, every adjustment to earnings with the reason for it, and how the results were weighed to reach a range, in language a non-specialist can follow.
Licensed venue valuations are scrutinised closely because the amounts are large and the mix of assets is complex. Whether the venue is the subject of a shareholder dispute in the Supreme Court of Queensland or a refinance before a bank's credit committee, the first question is usually how much of the price is the gaming position 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 and defend that split.
How will you separate the gaming position from the goodwill, and what evidence will support each figure? A valuer who offers one number for both has not done the analysis.
An Indicative valuation suits a licensee weighing an approach from a hotel group or deciding whether to take a lease to market. 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 or freehold going concern, a lease renewal or a refinance. A Detailed report is needed for a shareholder dispute, a family law matter, a club amalgamation or an insurance claim, where another expert is likely to review the opinion.
Consider who else will read the report. If a court, the ATO, a bank or an opposing valuer will test the figure, it needs the depth to answer them.
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.