By Triana O'Keefe, editor Australian Hotelier
2015 has proven to be one of the busiest periods for pub sales with close to $850 million worth of properties transacted since the start of the year – $600 million in NSW alone.
Nearly 20 hotels have been sold in metropolitan Sydney in what is being hailed as one of the most frenetic starts to the year since 2007.
Agents have suggested the new lockout laws that operate in Sydney's city and surrounding fringe, are causing a wave effect out to the suburbs. As a result, demand for neighbourhood pubs is on the rise.
Recently, major Sydney pub sales include a $170 million package to Chinese investors by Iris Capital, a $50 million suite of properties sold by the Medich family and the Palisade Hotel which sold to industry new comer Investec Australia Property Fund for close to $20 million.
Also during this busy period of sales, Jones Lang LaSalle managed the Macquarie Hotel, Liverpool transaction for $25 million to private Sydney hoteliers hot on the heels of Knight Frank and CBRE-managed Oasis Hotel sale for an estimated $40 million to a new joint venture involving investment bank Moelis and local private hoteliers Meeres group. Another major sale this year, transacted by Ray White’s Andrew Jolliffe, saw pub baron Justin Hemmes acquire the Newport Arms Hotel from the Bayfield family for a reported $50 million.
Earlier this year, an estimated $80 million worth of southeast Queensland pubs hit the market in what JLL hospitality director John Musca described as "favourable market conditions" for the state.
The Belvedere Hotel, The Full Moon and The Grand Central were among those listed by pub group Drinx, while Brisbane’s Stafford Tavern and the Sugarlands Tavern were sold by AT Hotel Group.
Musca told PubSales he expects the Queensland market to experience a flurry of activity this year as competitive yield compression rates tighten the market.
“The Queensland market typically lags behind Sydney and Melbourne by as much as six to 12 months,” Musca said.
To find out more about Jones Lang LaSalle's sales this year click here.