NEWS PROPERTY

Auckland’s 98-year-old Hotel DeBrett, on a site used for accommodation since 1841, is up for sale. Blair Peterken, a Colliers agent marketing the building with colleagues, said the hotel operator had recently renewed its lease on the building, giving a buyer good income stream prospects. Auckland Council valued the hotel at $29.5m in June 2021 with the 818sq m land being worth $11.4m and the 2652sq m building is worth $18.1m.

Noonamah Tavern and Rodeo, famous for its frog races and bucking bulls, has been listed for sale. The award-winning pub sits about 40 clicks from Darwin city and has been in the hands of Tony Innes for almost two decades. Mr Innes said he listed the business for sale to see what interest there was for the Territory icon. “I don’t have to sell, it’s more a chance to test the waters,” he said. “It’s not about bailing out of the industry or the pub. “Business has been very strong for the last three years, probably the best trade we’ve ever had. “It’s just a point in my life where I’m potentially looking for a different challenge.” Noonamah Tavern and Rodeo is for sale via expressions of interest.

Pee Wee’s on the Point – the NT’s reigning restaurant of the year – is for sale. It is the first time the popular restaurant has been offered to the market. Built in 1997, Pee Wee’s has developed a national and international reputation and is generally regarded as one of Darwin’s finest dining experiences. It was built after a consortium of Top End businessmen won a tender with the old Darwin City Council, but the venture faced challenges and current owner Simon Matthews bought them out in 2002. For details contact Bevan Roberts from business broker Bevan Roberts on 0413872737

A Chinese investor has snapped up Carlton’s Lygon Lodge – a vacant serviced apartment complex – for $17.3 million. The 60-room hotel, at 220-228 Lygon Street, also has two large ground floor restaurants and is located in the block between Grattan and Queensberry streets, near Argyle Square. The 1610 sq m building is on a 1019 sq m parcel of Commercial 1 zoned land. The deal was done by Savills agents Julian Heatherich and Benson Zhou. It is understood the buyer is planning to continue running the property as a hotel.

Leisure and entertainment company Funlab is set to open a new 2428 sq m venue at the former cigarette factory in Moorabbin. The old Phillip Morris factory and warehouse – a bayside landmark – was purchased by Up Property in 2015 for $20 million. The tobacco giant stopped using it in 2014, shifting cigarette production to Korea. The sprawling 6.3 ha complex was renamed Morris Moor and turned into a business park. So far, Stomping Ground Brewery, Penny for Pound bakery and cult burger outlet Royal Stacks have all set up shop. The estate has about 51,000 sq m of commercial and industrial space in eight buildings, and will have a value of more than $200 million when fully completed. More than 60 per cent of the 12,500 sq m set to open this year has already been pre-leased. Funlab has 42 sites around the country, including at Chadstone Shopping Centre. The Morris Moor outlet is due to open late in 2023 and will include a Holey Moley Golf Club, Archie Brothers’ Cirque Electriq and Zero Latency.

A popular Hobart restaurant, bar and events hub tucked inside a creekside castle has hit the market. Harlequin Hobart — on Creek Road Lenah Valley — has “closed for good”, an announcement on their website states, with the 2773 square metre property now offered for sale. Agent Knight Frank says they “have the privilege of offering a diverse mix of commercial and residential properties to the market … but it’s not often we get to present a castle”.

It’s not every day your beer is poured by someone who’s spent years inside maximum security prisons, but the Torrens Creek Exchange Hotel is a unique place. The new owners are a husband-and-wife duo fresh from Melbourne, where they worked as a prison guard and financial adviser respectively. The move north began when wife Priscilla Harrison declared a sunny Queensland change was in order. Husband Cliff decided it was time to lay his cards on the table. “She was originally looking at a house in Yeppoon and was telling me about how I could transfer to Capricornia Correctional Centre,” Mr Harrison said. “I turned to my wife and said, ‘if we’re going to QLD, I don’t want to go back to working in another prison’ and she said ‘yeah, OK’.” Their happy medium was to buy a pub. Mr Harrison said after working inside Her Majesty’s Prison Barwon for so long, his opinion on people had ‘faded somewhat’, but his view took a sharp turn when they collected the keys in January. “The friendliness of the community was unbelievable. They made us feel like we were welcome from day one. It’s really stunned us,” he said. “Coming out here, it’s repaired my faith in society. Australia is truly alive in these outback places.”

The bright lime green-painted Windsor Castle Hotel at 89 Albert St, Windsor, is on the market for the first time in 25 years. Miglic Dean Fitzroy director Richard Miglic said the hotel, which is leased by its operators, had attracted interest from local and overseas buyers. Mr Miglic said both “passive investors and future owner-occupiers” had inquired about the 515sq m site. “The large majority of buyers are looking at retaining the hotel and a future refurbishment,” Mr Miglic said. He said a few potential purchasers had commented about the trio of elephant sculptures on the roof, which belong to the tenant. The 152-year-old hotel features an outdoor courtyard, beer garden, a Tiki lounge and private function rooms. A Stonnington Council heritage report states the hotel is of “local architectural and historical significance to the City”. The original timber hotel, established on the site in 1854, was rebuilt in 1871.