The Lantern Hotel Group has sold its last remaining pub, the Crown Hotel in Sydney’s Surry Hills, to Damian Kelly’s Peak Investments for $26.1 million. Well-known Sydney publican Jason Marlow is taking over the management of the landmark Top 200 gaming hotel. The purchase takes Peak Investments’ portfolio to three assets, adding to their recent acquisitions the Rose & Crown Hotel, Parramatta and the Corrimal Hotel.
February 13, 2017
A century-old historic building which once housed one of New Zealand’s most famous entertainment venues, Top Hat, is for sale.
February 13, 2017
A Sydney hotelier has paid $18.1 million for the General Gordon Hotel in Sydney’s inner west with the multi-level pub selling at a massive 69 per cent premium to its June 2016 book value. The General Gordon was offloaded by the ASX-listed Lantern Hotel Group, which is selling its entire pub portfolio ahead of likely delisting. Lantern has been selling into an extremely strong pub market with record prices paid for a host of famous Sydney watering holes in the past 12 months as operators beef up their portfolios. Recent Lantern Sydney pub sales have included the Waterworks Hotel, which sold for $17.3 million, 65 per cent above its book value, and the Five Dock Hotel, which sold to former Wallaby Bill Young for $28.8 million at a 38 per cent premium to its book value. In December, Merivale owner Justin Hemmes paid a record auction price of just over $37 million for the Tennyson Hotel in Mascot in Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs. Selling agent Andrew Jolliffe from Ray White Hotels said the strong price paid for the General Gordon Hotel was a combination of both the underlying land value and the level of demand for pubs.
February 9, 2017
The Beach Hotel in Melbourne’s inner suburb of Albert Park is on the market with expectations of $16 million or more. Privately held, the two-storey venue is on a 1713 sq m corner site on Beaconsfield Parade. It includes a neighbouring 387 sq m Foodworks supermarket. CBRE’s Mark Wizel, Justin Dowers, Bianca Butterworth and Scott Callow are appointed.
February 7, 2017
Real estate agency LJ Hooker’s decision to stay private has prompted the resignation of another senior executive, with chief financial officer Thomas Wallace to exit. The group abandoned plans for a $400 million float due to tough market conditions and its desire to focus on long-term growth. The move prompted the resignation last month of managing director Grant Harrod, who had previously run listed company Salmat.
February 7, 2017
One of Sydney’s best known pubs, the Marlborough Hotel in Newtown, has hit the market with its high-profile owners set to reap about $35 million. The sale of the pub by businessman John Singleton, former Qantas chief Geoff Dixon and investment banker Mark Carnegie, who own it along with their portfolio’s financial backer SunSuper, comes as the value of Sydney hotels has soared. “We just felt we bought the portfolio very well; the market is strong so we want to take advantage of the strong market,” Mr Dixon said. “We are expecting $35m for the Marlborough Hotel. It owes us $15.5m,” he said. The investors bought the hotel for $12.175m in 2012 as part of a spree on iconic pubs. “We have spent a few million on it and buying yields have come down quite substantially,” Mr Dixon said. The pub has just been listed through Ray White agent Andrew Jolliffe, who said that A-grade freehold hotel yields could fall below 8 per cent in gateway east coast cities.
February 3, 2017
Property developer Jeff Xu is cashing in and selling the five-star Sheraton Melbourne Hotel his Golden Age Group completed three years ago on Little Collins Street. The 174-room hotel opened in early 2014 and marked the return of the Sheraton brand to Melbourne after an absence of nearly a decade. Based on other recent hotel transactions, market observers anticipated a price of between $130 million and $140 million. The Sheraton Melbourne formed part of a 32-level mixed-used development by Golden Age Group. The developer recently purchased Grocon’s neighbouring 85 Spring Street apartment project for $75 million while construction has started on another Golden Age Melbourne high-rise project, Collins House on Collins Street. Managed by Marriott International, the hotel’s amenities include two restaurants, a rooftop bar, function space, day spa, gym and indoor heated swimming pool. “We’re very pleased to be offering this exciting opportunity to purchase one of Melbourne’s most prestigious and contemporary hotels,” Mr Xu said. The global sales campaign for the hotel is being steered by Mark Durran of JLL Hotels and Hospitality alongside Mark Wizel and Lewis Tong of CBRE. Mr Durran said the key attributes of the hotel were that it was virtually brand new and that it was performing very well. The listing of the Sheraton Melbourne comes amid strong operating conditions in Melbourne with occupancy rates well above 80 per cent across the city.
February 3, 2017
Geelong’s landmark Mercure Hotel will exit the French-owned Accor network next month following its sale to Event Hospitality and Entertainment, previously known as Amalgamated Holdings. Melbourne’s privately owned hospitality company Kildair Hotels Group of Toorak pocketed about $25 million for the four-star hotel, built in 1971, which it had owned for at least two decades. Event Hospitality is expected to rebadge the property which has 138 guest rooms as a Rydges Hotel after a major renovation which is expected to involve the redevelopment of the car parking. CBRE agents Rob Cross and Scott Callow negotiated the deal over the seven-storey hotel fronting Geelong’s Gheringhap and Myers streets. Mr Cross said the soon-to-be-renamed Mercure Hotel attracted corporate and government business. Several groups lined up to buy the hotel, Mr Cross said. “There will be a few unhappy people who missed out,” he said.
