By Triana O'Keefe, editor Australian Hotelier
It has been estimated the Bayfield family, headed by Wayne Bayfield, has paid more than $9m for the iconic Paddington property. The property is added to their portfolio of the Dee Why Hotel, Newport Mirage and a liquor distribution business.
Andrew Jolliffe and Joel Fisher of Ray White Hotels brokered the deal, which comes at the end of a month in which more than $100m of hotels has changed hands, including Medich family assets the Woolloomooloo Bay Hotel and the Woolwich Pier Hotel.
Illustrating a competitive point in the market, Jolliffe advised that the four week national campaign extracted 80 qualified enquiries and multiple written offers to purchase the Eastern Suburbs freehold.
"It was our submission to our client that such an evocative and visually compelling piece of real estate should enjoy an aggressive print and electronic media campaign, and the results of our client's concurrence with this view are now patently clear,” he said.
The acquisition comes after the sale of the Newport Arms by the Bayfield’s to bar baron Justin Hemmes for around $50 million.
“When we sold the Newport Arms, we did so knowing that it would not only serve as a chapter in our family's history in the ​hotel ​industry closing, but equally, ​would serve as a precursor to the next chapter, ​a new chapter,” said Kaine Bayfield. “We are very excited to begin this new chapter. The Light Brigade appealed to us from the moment it was presented to us. I have grown up in pubs, being a fourth generation hotelier, I have no intention of doing anything else, nor do I want to be doing anything else. We cannot wait to get started.”
The sale of the hotel by Dean Haritos of Haritos Hotels brings to an end an eight-year association with the property.
"It's been an absolutely fantastic journey with this impressive hotel investment, and as a group we're proud of what we have achieved in this time from numerous hotel and restaurant industry awards, to simply providing the Eastern Suburbs with a first class hospitality offering," said Haritos.
"It's been an outstanding investment for us, but we've so many diverse businesses within the family structure both locally and internationally all competing for our attention that it really was a matter of assessing where best we attend our focus,” he said.
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