Sydenham's General Gordon Hotel sells for $18.1 million
Lantern Hotel Group has announced the off-market sale of the latest hotel in its portfolio, Sydenham’s General Gordon Hotel.
The art deco pub, directly opposite Sydenham Station, has been snapped up by an undisclosed but “existing and long-term hotelier” in Sydney, according to the agent Andrew Joliffe of Ray White Hotels.
In an announcement to the ASX on Wednesday afternoon, Lantern Hotels Group confirmed that the hotel had sold for $18.1 million.
Lantern said the sale price represented a 69 per cent premium on the June 30 2016 book price.
The sale is the latest in Lantern’s pub sell-off, which has included the sale of the Five Dock Hotel for $28.75 million and McMahons Point’s Commodore Hotel for $14.5 million, amongst others.
Mr Joliffe said that the success of such sales, driven in part by the general rise in property prices, showed strong signs for the A-grade hotel market in 2017.
“Fundamentally, the majority of assets are underpinned by property, gaming inventory or both,” Mr Joliffe said.
Low petrol prices, a low Aussie dollar and stable consumer spending are working in the markets favour, according to Mr Joliffe.
“(It) all suggests to us some continuity and reliability around the current internal and external investor sentiment regarding the asset class,” he said.
The General Gordon Hotel has been operating for more than 80 years according to its website, with a build date in the 1930s.
The hotel was purchased in 2005 by IEF, the predecessor to Lantern Hotel Group, from Tooth and Co. for $13.5 million.
The Hotel was named after General Sir Charles George Gordon, a British Army officer who was killed in Sudan during the fall of Khartoum.
According to Lantern’s ASX release, contracts on the hotel are due to be exchanged on March 18 with the completion of the sale by the end of March.
