Billionaire pub baron Justin Hemmes adds to his empire – by buying a PETROL STATION

Justin Hemmes is expanding his empire – by buying a petrol station. 

The billionaire pub baron, 50, has paid $10.15 million for a 840sq m petrol station site next door to his Merivale venue, The Vic on the Park, in Sydney‘s Marrickville. 

Hemmes purchased The Vic on the Park in 2017 for $22 million and appears to be expanding the venue into the adjoining lot. 

Justin Hemmes is expanding his empire – by buying a petrol station. Pictured with girlfriend Madeline Holtznagel

 It’s unclear at this stage what exactly he plans to do with the site. 

It comes after Hemmes opened up on his ambitious new plans to build a skyscraper in Sydney’s CBD and expand his pub empire interstate.

He plans to revamp his Ivy precinct by putting a tower on the site, develop his third entertainment zone in the Sydney CBD and shake up Melbourne‘s pub scene.

The billionaire pub baron, 50, has paid $10.15 million for a 840sq m petrol station site next door to his Merivale venue, The Vic on the Park, in Sydney’s Marrickville

Hemmes purchased The Vic on the Park in 2017 for $22 million and appears to be expanding the venue into the adjoining lot

Hemmes confidently laid out his ambitious plans in a profile with Good Weekend, which also quoted friends and rivals backing his chances of success.

He also opened up about his famously racy lifestyle which often sees him labelled a ‘playboy’.

‘[Is it] someone who has a lot of fun?’ Hemmes asked. ‘Maybe I’m guilty of that, but I get much more pleasure out of working, building and creating rather than living a life of leisure.’

It comes after Hemmes opened up on his ambitious new plans to build a skyscraper in Sydney’s CBD and expand his pub empire interstate

Hemmes’ new plans for the Ivy site are vague but include a multi-use skyscraper that ‘blurs the lines’ between public spaces, work and partying.

He described the project as the ‘biggest challenge’ of his career and a ‘game changer’ for Merivale.

One estimate puts construction costs for the Ivy revamp at $300million. 

While Hemmes gambles on spending up as he sends his iconic Ivy precinct skywards, he is set to build another buzzing Merivale zone around the Hotel CBD on King Street in Sydney.

Hemmes is set to build another buzzing Merivale zone around the Hotel CBD on King Street in Sydney

His plans include glamming up properties at 50 King Street, 104 Clarence Street and 71 and 73 York Street to become signature Merivale showpieces.

One of his biggest rivals, fellow publican Stu Laundy, predicts Hemmes will succeed partly because he’s seen as ‘too big to fail’.  

In the past year Hemmes has also begun serious moves on Melbourne, buying the seven-storey 1853 Tomasetti House, on Flinders Lane, in 2021 for $43million and the Lorne Hotel on the Great Ocean Road for $38million.

In the past year Hemmes has also begun serious moves on the Melbourne pub scene. Pictured is the Lorne Hotel on the Great Ocean Road which Hemmes bought for $38million