Capital Gain
Two popular Sydney pubs, The Clock in Surry Hills and The Bank in Newtown, have changed hands in a deal said to be worth $90 million-plus.
Pub giant Australian Venue Co swooped on the two venues after they were offered for sale by Amalgamated Holdings, which announced a sell-off of its large hotel portfolio in May this year.
Amalgamated Holdings had owned The Clock for 23 years and held The Bank Hotel for 14 before selling the freehold rights. The leases for the landmark pubs are owned and managed by Sydney hotelier Bruce Solomonā€™s Solotel.
The Clock at 470 Crown Street was established in 1863 and sits on a prominent corner, generating significant revenue from its bar, food and bottle shop operations as well as its 10 gaming machines. The Bank, established in 1880, sits on a prime spot in King Street, directly opposite Newtown Station.
JLLā€™s John Musca, Ben McDonald and Kate MacDonald advised on the Australian Venue Co deal. The sales follow pub baron Justin Hemmes paying $50 million for the Sackville pub that was sold by Amalgamated.
Further down the coast, the Star Hotel in Milton has been sold by the Stone family. They owned the venue for 40 years and have passed the pub on to Shoalhaven residents the Kapetanos family for an undisclosed price. Similar pubs have changed hands for about $9 million.
A traditional-style hotel on the Princes Highway, it combines a bar, bistro and gaming room with 15 machines. Milton, a coastal town, benefits from its proximity to the Southern Highlands.
HTL Property agents Blake Edwards and Ben Kennedy advised on the sale.
Hungry Jackā€™s
Property investors canā€™t feast on enough fast food. A freestanding, newly built Hungry Jackā€™s in Sydneyā€™s western corridor has sold for $7.5 million on a yield of about 4.39 per cent.
The burger joint in Cranebrook, about 50 kilometres north-west of Sydney, is part of a newly completed mixed-use development that includes a new service station, childcare centre and gym. It also has standalone El Jannah and Guzman y Gomez outlets.
Burtonwood Investment Partners sold the Hungry Jackā€™s to a private buyer in Stonebridgeā€™s July national portfolio auction, agent Tom Moreland said.
Large format
Centennial fund management has extended its footprint into the retail sector after paying $66.8 million for the McGraths Hill Home large format retail centre in Sydneyā€™s west at Vineyard.
The seller was Stirling Property Funds and the deal will add to Centennialā€™s recent acquisition of Brisbaneā€™s HomeCo North Lakes large format retail centre, for which it paid $52 million.
The combined purchases will boost Centennialā€™s retail portfolio to five assets valued at about $350 million. Centennial is a property investment management group that focuses on the industrial and logistics, office, retail and boutique residential, with a portfolio of 63 assets and more than $2.8 billion under management.
McGraths Hill Home is on a prominent 3.78-hectare site at Industry Drive, 40 kilometres north-west of Sydneyā€™s CBD. Fully leased, it covers 16,478 square metres of gross lettable area.
CBREā€™s James Douglas advised Stirling Property on the sale.
In the centre of the city, Sydneyā€™s Market City is up for sale as part of a $1 billion portfolio that is being sold by the Brisbane-based Jen Retail Properties.
It is being offered as a portfolio acquisition for the first time in 10 years and will be sold in one line. Overall, it comprises eight assets, including Melbourneā€™s Spencer Outlet Centre, the Gold Coastā€™s Q Super Centre, and a collection of retail and commercial assets in Brisbane.
CBREā€™s Simon Rooney is the exclusive agent on the sale.
YHA railway square
YHA Australia has moved a step closer to bringing its new flagship Mode by YHA hotel to life in the $1.4 billion Atlassian Central tower in Sydneyā€™s central railway tech precinct.
Billed as the worldā€™s largest hybrid-timber tower, the hotel will occupy the first five floors of the 39-storey structure. It aims to open in May 2027 but is now taking bookings.
There will be 460 beds, including 137 private rooms and 25 co-living rooms all with en suites, and large communal spaces that are a hallmark of youth hostels.
At the heart of the new accommodation is The Forum; a double-height amphitheatre that can change throughout the day, from casual dining and a co-working space by to a venue for live performances and community events after dark.
There will also be a 10-metre climbing wall and an on-site microbrewery.
carolynannecummins@gmail.com
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