Kingscliff Beach Hotel near Byron Bay on the market for $100m
Rich Lister Tony Denny and former Rich Lister Peter Mattick have joined the rush of wealthy investors looking to cash in on sky-high demand for pubs after listing three NSW venues with a combined value of around $180 million.
The most prominent of the three venues – owned and operated by Mr Mattick’s Taphouse Group – is the Kingscliff Beach Hotel, north of Byron Bay, which comes to market with price expectations of around $100 million.
The popular beachfront venue offers multiple bars, a large beer garden, gaming facilities and a retail liquor outlet on a 3824 sq m site about a 45-minute drive from Byron Bay.
The offering of the Kingscliff Beach Hotel follows Mr Mattick and his fellow investors, which include the Salter family, selling the Port Macquarie Hotel in June for a NSW North Coast record of $57 million.
Mr Mattick and his late business partner Phil Salter began buying trophy pubs following the success of their marketing and communications company Salmat, which listed on the ASX in 2002, propelling the pair onto the Financial Review Rich List.
The Kingscliff Beach Hotel is being marketed by HTL Property’s Andrew Jolliffe and Dan Dragicevich.
“In terms of iconic coastal properties and genuinely once-in-a-lifetime opportunities, the Kingscliff Beach Hotel really does enjoy national prominence and comparable association with the likes of the Beach Hotel at Byron Bay [which sold for over $100 million],” Mr Jolliffe said.
In Sydney’s southern suburbs, Mr Denny has put two pubs just a few kilometres apart on the Princes Highway – the Heathcote Hotel and the Engadine Tavern – up for sale with price expectations above $80 million.
Mr Denny owns them in a syndicate that includes property developer Gavin Duffy.
Mr Denny, who runs residential developer Central Real, said the group had decided to sell the assets as part of a plan to start diversifying in to other real estate asset classes within its portfolio.
“The sale of both the Engadine and Heathcote hotels represents an amazing opportunity to not only buy two great pub venues but for the buyer to also take a unique strategic position in Sydney’s growing southern districts,” Mr Denny said.
The Heathcote Hotel stands on a 7244 sq m corner site on the Princes Highway that could support 130 apartments under proposed development plans.
The Engadine Tavern stands on a 1660 sq m site, but included in the sale is another 1900 sq m of adjacent retail tenancies that could pave the way for around 55 apartments or a large supermarket.
Nick Butler and Tony Bargwanna of Savills have been appointed to market the two pubs which include 41 gaming machine entitlements.
Mr Butler said Sydney hoteliers were actively pursuing assets with development upside as they move away from being over-reliant on gaming revenues.
“There’s also the need for operators to show their ESG credentials – and that takes the form of being involved in multi-use developments,” he said.
