Town’s only brothel sold to interstate investor
A northern NSW brothel offering ‘exceptional’ return on investment has sold to an interstate buyer for $1.4 million.
The only gentleman’s club in the tourist gateway town of Ballina was launched to market six months ago, but was snapped up after a new lease was negotiated promising boosted annual rental income of about $114,000.
Existing tenant, Ballina Exclusive Company, signed a five-year commercial lease in July with the option to renew the agreement for a further five years.
The purpose-built building on a 1,325sq m site at 34 Piper Dr was marketed by Dax Roep and Lachlan Marshall, of Harcourts Coastal Commercial, and has operated as a licenced adult entertainment club since 2005.
Mr Roep said the freehold sale delivered strong rental yield of 7.5 per cent to the Melbourne-based investor, who had no previous experience in assets related to the sex industry.
“Assets with over 7.5 per cent yield are so rarely available, so once we had negotiated the fresh lease and re-released the investment to the market, we had buyers interested from all over the country,” Mr Roep said.
“It represented an exceptional opportunity for astute investors looking for a long-term tenanted investment.”
He said regional locations typically offered higher yield, while commercial properties within the Northern Rivers industrial precincts were particularly tightly held.
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It was “business as usual” under existing management for the brothel during operating hours of 10am to 4am, seven days a week.
Ballina Exclusive Company’s website advertises a range of erotic experiences starting from $150 for 30 minutes, including personalised fantasies as well as an outcall escort service across the region including Byron Bay and Lismore.
In-house services are conducted across multiple private client rooms, variously themed in Egyptian, oriental or jungle style, while there is also a spa room and a VIP room with twin dance poles on a stage.
The business also provides services for clients with a disability and one of the rooms is wheelchair accessible.
“The tenant has the luxury of no competing businesses within the immediate area and the property is positioned in the main industrial estate of Ballina and surrounded by the M1 Pacific Mwy, national and international companies and the Ballina Gateway Airport,” Mr Roep said.