John Singleton and Geoff Dixon sell Toxteth Hotel in Sydney's Glebe
Business partners and long-time mates, Geoff Dixon and John Singleton have sold the Toxteth pub to Mitchell Waugh’s Public House Management Group as part of their program to divest the portfolio and re-invest in new ventures.
The asset is within the Riversdale Group, under the Australian Pub Fund banner, which the two businessmen run with well-known investor Mark Carnegie.
Riversdale was founded by Paddy Coughlan and Rod “Ned” Kelly and bought the Toxteth, in the inner-city Sydney suburb of Glebe for $10 million in early 2011. No sale price has been disclosed.
The Australian Pub Fund, founded by Mr Carnegie, ex-Qantas chief Mr Dixon and ad man and investor Mr Singleton, was formed over six years and is worth about $300 million, before some recent sales. They are also selling The Marlborough Hotel in Newtown.
Speaking on behalf of Australian Pub Fund, Matthew Beach said the sale of the hotel met divestment criteria previously determined by the group.
John Singleton (centre) at the opening of The Malborough Hotel Garden Bar in Newtown with Riversdale Group executives Geoff Dixon (right) and Paddy Coughlan (CEO). The Marlborough is currently listed for sale. Photo: Wolter Peeters
“Fundamentally, the sale price achieved represented a material accretion of value when compared to the purchase price, and is consistent on a comparable yield basis to where we have been prepared to sell other hotel properties owned by the fund,” Mr Beach said.
Ray White Group’s Asia-Pacific director Andrew Jolliffe is advising on the sale and said the Toxteth is outside Sydney’s lock-out laws area, and has enjoyed a strong trading platform over the past two years.
PHMG also owns Sydney hotel properties including The Woollahra Hotel, Paddington’s Royal and Four in Hand hotels.
“Our philosophy is not complicated. We look for opportunities to acquire A-grade commercial property holdings in destinations underpinned by active patronage fundamentals; and whereby we can apply our deliberate hospitality strategies in order to grow revenue across all income streams,” Mr Waugh said.
“The purchase of this significant fringe CBD hotel asset is consistent with others made by the very well credentialled PHMG; and the recent operational improvements made to other hotels recently bought for the stable, such as those made to Mosman’s Buena Vista, are patently available to the group again in respect of this acquisition,” Mr Jolliffe said.
“I believe the market conditions that have provided the fertile base for such prosperous activity will remain for the foreseeable future.
“The confluence of the historically low interest rate cycle, ready availability of senior debt, the low Australian dollar driving inbound revenues and the strength of weekly cash receipts when collectively distilled, render the opportunity to acquire A-grade hospitality property wholly compelling.”
In other pub sales, the owners of the Anglers Rest Hotel, Jeff Watts and Mal McKellar, have decided to retire after 31 years of pub life.
The hotel is near the Hawkesbury river and station.
It is for sale through brokers Greg Haines of John Parsons hotels and John Malone of Central Consulting Sydney.
Mr Malone said the agents were expecting strong interest in the hotel as it is mostly under management and close to Sydney, as well as being in the sought after Central Coast corridor.
“With the demand for Sydney hotels being so strong, the Anglers Rest being only 45 mins from Sydney and the price range being sought, should interest a wide variety of potential buyers,” Mr Malone said.
