The Duke of Kent joins the ranks of Romano’s Hotel, Sportsmen’s Club Hotel, Palm and Pawn, and The Red Steer Hotel Motel; all of which changed hands in 2016. 

It comes on the back of a slew of sales across the region, including the Conapaira Hotel in Rankins Springs, Doodle Cooma Arms in Henty, and The Temora Hotel, reopened by Hawthorn AFL player Luke Breust. 

The Fitzmaurice Street icon boasts an open-air rooftop bar, nine hotel rooms, 12 poker machines, a nightclub and average weekly turnover in the order of $70,000.

The Duke of Kent went for $2,295,000 in September 2007 – nine years and three months ago – but the weekly turnover is believed to have doubled since then.

Publican Jack Egan decided to sell after an Albury-based hotel broker explained Sydney pub prices were overheated and buyers were turning to the bush.

“I’m told the return on investment in Sydney’s not all that good and there’s a push from pub owners getting out of Sydney into regional cities like Wagga and Bathurst,” Mr Egan said.

“I'll be looking at selling in late February or early March under auction.

“The pub industry is fun work, you meet a lot of interesting people and get to know the regulars, but we have a lot of silly laws to deal with.”

Wagga hotels are historically tightly held by owners, according to leading local hotel broker Nick Tinning, who expects the Duke of Kent to end the run of pub transactions.

“Jack's will be the last available pub in Wagga for some time, most of the others are tightly held and always have been,” Mr Tinning said.

“The Duke is one of the more affordable pubs in Wagga and there will be lots of local interest.

“Sydney hotels have priced themselves out of the marketplace and hoteliers are looking to regional areas to pick up good assets. 

“All pubs in Wagga are good assets as the economy is underpinned by the army, air-force, government agencies, a strong agricultural industry and doesn’t have the peaks and troughs associated with mining.”

Another Fitzmaurice Street institution, Romano’s Hotel, opened a wine and cocktail bar six weeks ago as part of a shake-up by a local consortium that bought in six months ago.

Romano’s manager Aaron Fairbank said The Hampden bar – on the site of the former Aura restaurant – had enjoyed good trade.

Romano’s sold for $3.3 million in July, 175 per cent dearer than the $1.2m it fetched in December 2008.