By Vanessa Cavasinni, editor Australian Hotelier
The Hope Island Tavern, on Queensland’s Gold Coast, has been sold after two years of ownership for a $4 million profit on the original purchase price.
The Anthony Moreton Group and Pryde Group purchased the pub in May 2014 for $6 million, after which they secured a 15-year lease deal with Coles’ Liquorland subsidiary. Less than two years later, Hope Island Tavern has been sold to private investors via Brisbane company Tavgrow for $10.2 million.
The pub was sold through an EOI campaign conducted by Colliers International agents Darrell Irwin, Stewart Gilchrist and Neil Scanlan. Irwin said that the potential for the pub, made for a robust campaign.
“We had almost 100 enquiries and four offers to purchase before the campaign closed. In addition to its secure covenant, there is also potential for further development in the future as a significant balance of the site is still available, with the tavern gross floor area being a total of 1565sqm.”
Not only is Liquorland leasing the site until 2029, but the pub is also part of a larger site that has been envisioned as the town centre for the suburb of Hope Island, with a DA having been lodged for a retail centre next to the tavern, with close to 10,000sqm of retail space. It has been reported that both Woolworths and Aldi have already pre-committed to the retail centre.
Irwin suggests that the Hope Island Tavern’s sale for such a tidy sum is indicative of the strength of the Gold Coast market.
“The Gold Coast is in a good state economically off the back of significant economic growth in the last year or two.
“There’s a strong demand from the market for hotels, as tourism is expected to grow in the next couple of years, and this bodes particularly well for the Gold Coast. Barriers for entry for new hotel development has also strengthened the position of existing hotels.
“With a strong demand and limited supply, we will see further price growth on the Gold Coast within the next 12 months.”