Former Noah’s Backpackers sells for $60m
The former Noahs Backpackers, now known as South Bondi Hotel, has sold for $60m.
Six properties previously owned by bankrupt pub baron Jon Adgemis — including the former Noah’s Backpackers in Bondi Beach — have gone to the one buyer.
Tom Wallace’s Millinium Capital Managers paid $60m for the iconic Campbell Pde site now known as South Bondi Hotel, but their total spend on the prized Adgemis assets now totals $150m, sources advise.
Another Adgemis property sold for $20m to another unidentified purchaser, netting a total of $170m to creditors.
Millinium, the Sydney-based firm involved in investment, property, and venture capital snapped up the $60m Bondi Beach site, plus the refurbished Hotel Diplomat in Potts Point for about $21m and the Empire Hotel in Annandale for $20.5m in the latest deals.
But it had earlier bought the Kurrajong Hotel in Erskineville for $20m (September); the Town Hall Hotel at Balmain for $9.5m (July) and the Three Weeds at Paddington (July) for about $20m.
News Corp broke the news of the Bondi Beach hushed-up sale on Wednesday afternoon, based on information from sources, leading to sales agents HTL Property and Colliers to issue a press release on Wednesday night.
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Former pub baron Jon Adgemis. Picture: Liam Mendes / The Australian
The former backpackers and the flats beside it were purchased in 2022.
Without revealing the prices achieved or the buyers, it said the former Noah’s, Diplomat and Empire had all sold, along with Claridge House in Darlinghurst.
“The speed at which they have all transacted speaks to the market appetite for built form, high presence hospitality opportunities in gateway precincts, ” HTL Property’s Andrew Jolliffe said.
And Colliers Managing Director Matthew Meynell said: “This is arguably the most active on-market sale process we’ve been involved in, with consolidated inquiries exceeding 580 and incorporating 46 first round offers to purchase, consisting of Australia’s most recognised hospitality and tourism investors.”
Other sources said Claridge House in Darlinghurst sold to a separate buyer for about $20m. The Exchange Hotel in Balmain remains on the market.
Documents show Adgemis had paid $58m for the backpackers, now dilapidated and covered in graffiti, in 2022 and $10m for the block of units beside it.
But the flats at 10-12 Campbell Pde weren’t part of this latest deal, they’re currently for sale at $12.75m via Matt Serrao and Ric Serrao of Raine and Horne Double Bay.
The former KPMG dealmaker, who has $1.8bn in debts, had grand plans for the property, changing its name to the South Bondi Hotel and winning council approval for a revamp that included a rooftop bar overlooking the beach.
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Hotel Diplomat in Potts Point.
Receivers McGrath Nicol listed that site, along with the Hotel Diplomat in Potts Point that cost Adgemis’s Public Hospitality Group $16.5m in 2022, for sale via agents HTL Property in conjunction with Colliers, alongside the Empire Hotel, Claridge House and the Exchange Hotel in October.
The listing of the commercial properties followed the forced mortgagee-in-possession sale of the Rose Bay investment home of Adgemis’s family, which sold for $12m after two months on the market.
And lender Deutsche Bank took over three other of his venues in September, including The Empire Hotel in Annandale, The Exchange in Balmain, and Claridge House in Darlinghurst.
Last November, Matthew Meynell had described the former backpackers as: “a truly iconic beachfront property located at Sydney’s most famous beach.”
He added it was “a rare blank canvas and the opportunity to transform the building into a landmark that defies coastal living”.
The former 260-bed hostel is on an 866 sqm block with views out to Bondi Beach and came with plans to develop 53 accommodation rooms and multiple bar areas.
The Kurrajong Hotel in Erskineville sold for about $20m in September.
And other Sydney venues, Oxford House, The Norfolk, The Strand, The Exchange and Camelia Grove Hotel have also had receivers or administrators appointed.
Adgemis had set up Public Hospitality in 2021 and there were 22 venues before it collapsed.
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