Landmark heritage pub site flagged for high-rise
A heritage-listed Adelaide pub with a pedigree reaching back to the 1850s “that holds a lot of quality memories for people” is switching owners.
Historic city pub The Griffins Hotel on Hindmarsh Square is being sold to a new owner, but punters are being assured that pints will continue to be poured.
The historic hotel on Hindmarsh Square is being described as “an exceptionally scarce opportunity to acquire a strategic hospitality asset in the heart of Adelaide’s commercial, accommodation and retail core”, with expressions of interest ending on June 24.
It will be the first time the hotel changes hands in more than 30 years – it joins another SA heritage hotel in the Clare Valley that is also on the market, the Magpie and Stump Hotel in Mintaro.
Nicholas Lower, managing director of the hotel capital markets team at Savills, said the city pub was a rare opportunity “to be so close to the heart of the Adelaide CBD and Rundle Mall, that’s certainly attracted a lot of people to enquire about”.
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“The pub holds a lot of quality memories for people in their youth and beyond in their working lives.
“Certainly, we were expecting a lot of people to have interest considering there aren’t a lot of opportunities to acquire in the CBD or high-quality real estate in general, and it’s certainly that – on a corner site in a great location, not just foot traffic but vehicular traffic as well.”
While a price was not listed for the site, the dilapidated King’s Head Hotel, located on the corner of King William and Sturt streets, reportedly sold for about $7 million in July 2025.
According to the real estate listing, the hotel comes with 20 gaming machines and has an estimated net income of $471,464 each year. The real estate listing also flagged the site as a potential future high-rise development opportunity.
The Griffins Hotel sits on a total of 1,243 square metres and is located in a Capital City zone, which allows developments of up to 53 metres.
Lower said the hotel first hit the market in June, with a standard expression of interest process that attracted many potential buyers in South Australia as well as nationally and internationally.
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Among those expressing interest were buyers looking to build a mixed-use residential development, but Lower said it would continue to be run as a pub for the foreseeable future.
As the hotel is locally heritage listed, a potential buyer would need planning approval for “any work (including painting) that could materially affect the heritage value of the place”, according to the state’s Planning, Development and Infrastructure Act 2016.
Previous development plans lodged for local heritage-listed city properties, including the iconic Crown and Anchor, have involved retaining a façade but demolishing the building’s interior.
According to a City of Adelaide heritage report, a hotel has existed at the site since 1850, with the current building dating to the 1880s, and it was once one of three on Hindmarsh Square.
Originally known as the King William, the hotel underwent three name changes before being rebuilt by architects English and Soward in 1886 as the General Gordon for wealthy banker Arthur Waterhouse.
Known as the Griffins Hotel since 1988, the architecture of the pub is typical of the Victorian era, according to the report, featuring elaborate quoins, cast iron lacework and a stepped parapet, while a wide verandah dates from the early 20th century.
“The building constitutes a notable physical environment as it reinforces a prominent intersection in the City and ornaments the landscaped spaces of Hindmarsh Square,” the report stated.
Lower said the pub scene in Adelaide had “reshaped itself” over the past few years, with “some really strong transactions” and interstate players, including the Sydney-based Oscars Group, entering the market.
“I think we’re really starting to see the landscape change in a positive manner for the Adelaide pub scene, which has probably laid a little bit dormant over the last few years,” he said.
It comes after plans to knock down The Block on Hindmarsh Square to build a 45-storey student accommodation tower – which has been home to popular record store Clarity Records and wine bar LOC – were approved in August 2025.
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