Justin Hemmes has added to the Merivale northern beaches portfolio after buying The Collaroy. The beachside watering hole joins Merivale’s other northern beaches locals, Papi Chulo in Manly and The Newport on the Pittwater estuary.
The deal saw Mitchell Waugh’s Public House Management Group (PHMG) sell the hotel through Andrew Jolliffe, the Asia Pacific Director of Ray White Hotels. Although none of the parties involved have revealed the figure Merivale has paid, many media outlets are putting the deal at around $21m.
Hemmes said he was delighted to add The Collaroy to Merivale’s northern beaches portfolio.
“The Collaroy is in a truly spectacular location, with sweeping views of the ocean and sand literally at its door step,” he said.
“This is a really exciting addition to the group, and one that will beautifully complement what we’re creating at The Newport.
“I love the Northern Beaches; it is a magnificent area and we are incredibly proud to be part of it.”
PHMG bought The Collaroy via an auction in 2010 and conducted a wholesale renovation in October 2014.
Jolliffe said that the purchase by Merivale shows that the national hotel market is still exhibiting strong investment fundamentals.
“When we think about some of the transactions we’ve overseen in the past few months, we think about the sale of Newtown’s iconic Marlborough Hotel, Australian Pub Fund’s Kinselas Hotel sale to the Universal Hotel Group; and the Coolibah Hotel to a generational pub family,” he said. “All significant sales, and all to significant hospitality entities who continue to identify A-grade assets within the asset class as being appropriate portals for the deployment of considered capital.
“This firmly suggests to us advocacy, sustainability, and the unmistakable attraction the hospitality market enjoys by comparison to other would be competitors for share of the investment dollar.
“The discreet sale of the beachfront Collaroy property to Justin Hemmes is only further testimony to this widely held theory,” Jolliffe added.
Merivale is continuing its extensive redevelopment of The Newport; after the first phase opened in April last year, the second phase featuring an indoor restaurant and bar is set to open this summer. Merivale officially gets the keys for The Collaroy in September and said it will reveal its plans for the venue in due course.