PAULINE Hanson is a Hunter pub owner no more.
The One Nation leader has offloaded her investment property, the pub formerly known as the Exchange Hotel in Maitland for $1.1 million.
The sale comes 11 years after she purchased the hotel for $449,000 in partnership with Hunter-based real estate agent Rhonda Nyquist.
According to CoreLogic records, the hotel at 327 High Street was sold to a syndicate of buyers in the Dig & Hedge company.
The hotel currently trades as a craft beer pub known as The Pourhouse.
When Senator Hanson purchased the investment property in 2012 she said she had chosen the former hotel after a search '"over the years" and had based it on Maitland's growth and the potential to add units to the site.
A spokesperson for Senator Hanson's office confirmed the sale with The Newcastle Herald on Monday.
"The opportunity came up and, frankly, as an Australian investor she has made it very clear that she has very little confidence in the national economy under this Labor government," they said.
"She also feels that governments are disincentivising property investment, demonising property investors and putting rules in place that make those investments a great deal more difficult."
They said the rising cost of living was also affecting the hospitality industry.
"They are also struggling with the rising cost of living because one of the first things people do is cut back and say 'Well, we can't afford to go to the pub tonight," they said.
"She also made the point, 'I was at a pub the other day and paid $13.50 for a schooner'.
"So there are a range of factors impacting on this and Senator Hanson just feels that it's just not a wise investment at this time."
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