'Melbourne's heart and soul': Famed music venue The Espy up for sale
Famed Melbourne music venue The Esplanade Hotel is on the market with a price tag of $70 million.
The international selling campaign comes after owner Sand Hill Road recently sold the lease of The Espy to the Australian Venue Company, a privately-backed hospitality operator running 211 venues across Australia and New Zealand.
Built in 1878 and set over five levels, the St Kilda landmark is among the country’s oldest and most revered pubs.
The Espy was bought by Melbourne hospitality group Sand Hill Road group in 2017 for a reported $13.2 million. By then, it had been shuttered for two years and had fallen into serious disrepair.
Reviving the 3500-square-metre venue was a massive 18-month undertaking, with Sand Hill Road breathing new life into sections of the building that had been closed to the public for decades.
The refurbished hotel reopened in 2018 with 12 bars, two restaurants, live music stages, function rooms and a terrace with a retractable roof.
Australian Venue Co has a 20-year-lease on the property, plus options, paying $3.15 million in rent.
Listing agent and Gorman Allard Shelton director Joseph Walton said the property was a once-in-a-lifetime investment opportunity. “The Espy is irreplaceable and representative of Melbourne’s heart and soul,” he said.
The grand white building sits upon a prime slice of real estate on the St Kilda esplanade, with views over Port Phillip Bay.
The iconic band room, the Gershwin Room, has hosted an impressive lineup of global artists over the decades – all the while, the institution remained renowned for supporting emerging musicians and bands.
Walton said he anticipated strong interest from major domestic, interstate and international buyers, “driven not only by the property’s rich history and iconic status but, more particularly, its 20-year lease to Australian Venue Co, a high quality, first-class tenant.”
Sand Hill Road director Andy Mullins said The Espy was “so much more than a pub”.
“We feel so privileged to have been the team that breathed fresh life into the lungs of this stunning, historic establishment.
“We feel very proud to have done our job as one of The Espy’s few custodians. We are now genuinely excited for the next freehold owners as Paul Waterson and the AVC team take over and write the next chapter in its storied history.”
The sale will be closely watched by the pub and hotel sector, which has enjoyed an extraordinarily strong run of bumper sales, with $2 billion in capital flowing into the sector over the 2021-2022 financial year.
Private equity funds, veteran hoteliers, family-run syndicates and high-net-worth individuals are among those entering the sector.
Hotel and apartment developers have also invested in numerous St Kilda projects, notably Tim Gurner’s $550 million redevelopment of the Novotel Hotel into luxury residential apartments.
The public tender process for 11 The Esplanade, St Kilda, will conclude in November.
