The Byron Bay Beach Hotel has again changed hands, with Johns Lyng Group CEO, Scott Didier AM, taking full ownership, having previously been a minority shareholder.
It is widely considered to be the second-highest price ever paid for a pub in Australia at reportedly $140m. In 2022, Nelson Meers AO, former Sydney lord mayor paid $160 million for The Crossroads Hotel in Casula, Sydney.
The Beach Hotel or The Beachy, as it is known, underwent significant redevelopment in the early 1990s when owned by John Cornell and his wife Delvene Delaney.
In 2007, the van Haandel family acquired it for a reported $44 million, and then ten years later in 2017, it was sold to Impact Investment Group for a reported $68.2 million. In 2019, Moelis Australia (now MA Financial Group) acquired both the freehold and the operating business, reportedly for just over $100 million.
Who’s the new owner?
According to LinkedIn, the Melbourne-based businessman has been CEO of ‘insurance commercial disaster maintenance services’ company, Johns Lyng Group, since acquisition in 2004.
Johns Lyng Group (JLG) hold significant government contracts and were tasked with building the emergency pod villages in the Northern Rivers after the 2022 floods.
They came under the spotlight when leading the state government’s Flood Property Assessment Program, as JLG held key roles in assessing damage and the need for repairs to homes.
LinkedIn says, ‘In late October 2017, Scott led the company to a successful listing on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX)’.
Didier’s statement to The Echo says his local real estate portfolio includes the Byron Bay Beach Suites, 50 per cent stakes in both the Great Northern Hotel and Hotel Marvell (in partnership with Scott Emery, founder of ASX listed MoneyMe Limited), ‘as well as a range of other commercial and residential properties’.
Delighted Didier
Mr Didier said he is delighted to purchase the landmark venue.
‘The Beach Hotel is iconic – not just to Australians, but to the many international visitors who love Byron Bay’s unique atmosphere and spectacular waterfront. My wife Yvette and the entire family look forward to growing and nurturing this magnificent asset for generations to come’.
He says the pub will be independently managed by Coleman Management Group (CMG), ‘a family-owned group with 30 years’ experience in the hospitality industry’.
CMG Director, Justin Coleman, says, ‘The Beachy is in solid hands with the Didier family, and our team looks forward to getting back to the fundamentals of what made The Beachy such a legendary venue’.
Settlement and takeover is scheduled for 1 July 2025, says the statement.
For four decades The Echo has printed the stories some people loved, some people hated, and some pretended not to read. If you want us to keep telling the truth, the real truth, not the sugar-coated version. We’ll need your support to keep the presses rolling. 
