Crystal Palace Hotel, on Sydney’s George St, has been sold in an off-market transaction for the first time in almost half a century.
Renowned publican Jimmy Galanakis has sold the Crystal Palace Hotel on George St after 45 years of ownership and operation. The hotel was acquired by JDA Hotels in an off-market transaction facilitated by HTL Property’s Dan Dragicevich and Andrew Jolliffe. The sale is reported to be in excess of $35m.
Located at the southern end of George St in the Haymarket precinct, the pub is ideally located across the road from Central Station, Australia’s largest public transport hub. It’s also situated adjacent to the rapidly growing Tech Central and Central Place precincts – forecast to provide 268,000 sqm of commercial space and house 16,000 commercial employees once complete.
Crystal Palace Hotel has a 3am trading license, 21 accommodation rooms and a gaming room with 27 EGMs.
Successful buyers JDA Hotels also operate three pubs nearby as part of their 13-venue portfolio – Great Southern Hotel, Mountbatten Hotel, and Charlie Chan’s Bar.
“We are very excited to add the Crystal Palace to our portfolio, and in particular so as to enjoy the synergies we believe will be able to create within a precinct we already know so well,” stated JDA Hotels director John Feros.
Dragicevich praised Galanakis’ legacy at the Crystal Palace Hotel.
“In an increasingly consolidated market the Crystal Palace was a rare opportunity in that it had remained in the hands of a standalone single asset owner for over four decades; and which in and of itself is a testament to not only Mr Galanakis’ stewardship, but also the intrinsic fundamentals of the property and business operations.”
Jolliffe added that it was one of the most enquired after hotels in his experience.
“I can’t immediately recall another hotel so consistently sought after and enquired about in an acquisition sense as was the case with the Crystal Palace over the past 20 years. As such it remains an absolute honour for HTL to have represented our valued private client; and in doing so, facilitating another example of a sophisticated capital source aligning its investment objectives with hard yielding property assets.”