Sydney’s iconic hotel the Harbour View Hotel has been sold in less than a week for a reported $12 million.
JLL Hotels & Hospitality Group exclusively revealed to Australian Hotelier a private investor has bought the Harbour View Hotel in Sydney’s Rocks district.
The hotel sold after just five days, having come to the market for the first time in 20 years. The private outgoing owners are said to be retiring and this buy represents the new owners’ first hotel investment.
The sale of the Harbour View Hotel comes at an extremely busy time for pub sales in Australia:
- Bill Young buys Friend In Hand from Byrne family for a rumoured $10.25m
- JLL revealed the sale of the Harold Park Hotel after just five days marketing.
- HTL Property transact the Oxford Hotel in Drummoyne involving Arthur Laundy for $42m.
- Woolworths’ plans to combine and then demerge Endeavour Drinks Group and ALH Group.
“We pre-empted a robust response from the JLL international and national investor client base,” said JLL National Director John Musca, “that would take the asset quickly beyond hotelier suitors, and were overwhelmed by the interest resulting in a swift sale to a private national providore – their first hotel investment.”
JLL confirmed the new owners have exciting plans for the hotel including a new potential rooftop bar, like those of the nearby Glenmore and Palisades hotels, with spectacular views over Sydney Harbour and the world-famous bridge. This is likely to see a new premium restaurant offering at the hotel and heritage-sympathetic bar and terrace renovations for its valued and long-serving patrons.
On the recent buoyant activity, JLL’s Nick Butler said, “we are receiving qualified, motivated acquisition directives from buyers across all levels of hotel opportunity with the highest volume of off-market activity for over two years.”