By James Atkinson
Super fund ISPT will appoint a new operator for the Crest Hotel in Sylvania, Sydney, which it has acquired from Reserve Group for $19.2 million.
The two-level hotel is located in the car park of the ISPT-owned Southgate Shopping Centre, and was sold by JLL Hotels & Hospitality Group’s John Musca last week.
ISPT head of retail services Sam Curry told TheShout the super fund doesn’t typically invest in standalone pubs. Any pubs it owns would typically be within a shopping centre.
“For this particular acquisition it’s been purchased on the basis of future development opportunity for us on the land in connection with our shopping centre,” he said.
“We will look to get an operator in there while we run through any development schemes – that could be three, four or five years away.” [continues below]
Curry said the pub has been trading well for the last few years, but the current operator is leaving.
JLL’s Musca said the Crest Hotel was “one of those rare hybrid assets that offers real value-add potential for both hoteliers and developers”.
“As a result we secured a number of offers to lease the hotel for retail investors, including the successful bidders, so they can access a passive rental income stream on the site until development and maximisation opportunities are pursued,” he said.
The pub occupies a strategic 3744 square metre site area with right of way access to over 105 car bays and a drive-thru bottleshop. It is approved to trade to 3am and includes 24 gaming machines and three separate on-site retail tenancies, including Subway.
JLL said the sale brings to 16 the number of hotels it has sold over the past five months, with further sale announcements expected shortly.
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