Boom in big hospitality venue sales as investors ready for freedom from Melbourne lockdown
Huge hospitality deals are taking place across the city as investors back-in a boom when Melbourne emerges from lockdown.
JLL Hotels vice president Will Connolly has just sold Reservoir’s Edwardes Lake Hotel for $28m and listed Point Cook’s The Brook with early interest around $24m-$25m.
“The transactional activity for the last month or so in the retail and hospitality space is the largest we’ve seen in probably two decades,” he said.
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“When we opened up after lockdown in 2020 we saw a huge spike in trading from hospitality and retail venues, with everyone obviously so enthusiastic to get back into public life again.
“Investors are seeing and identifying that from last year and predicting it will happen when we open back up again.”
The Edwardes Lake Hotel was previously known as Zagame’s Reservoir and sold by the famous Melbourne hospitality family with a 60-year lease.
Zagame Corporation sold the lease to IPR earlier this year before the freehold interest this time around to Hotel Property Investments, which trumped the competition with an unconditional bid and very short settlement term.
The venue operates 100 gaming machines with a commencing net annual income of $1.4m and underlying land-banking value in the 48,900sq m site.
Meanwhile, Point Cook’s The Brook is being offered with a long-term lease to the Melbourne Racing Club, which expires in 2029 with the option of three further 10-year options.
The 10,785sq m site has a current net annual income of $1,338,541.
The hospitality and gaming venue includes a large family bistro with children’s play area, sports bar with TAB facilities, gaming lounge with 80 machines, multiple function spaces and extensive on-site parking.
Expressions of interest in The Brook freehold close October 13 at 5pm.
Melbourne Racing Club has been operating the venue for about three years.
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