By Triana O'Keefe, editor Australian Hotelier
In an unprecedented move, the privately-owned Feros group has placed both the Panania Hotel and the Lone Pine Tavern on the market for a combined $40 million.
Recognising the group’s strength in the food and beverage offerings, CEO Chris Feros believes the two gaming orientated venues for sale would better reach their potential under different management.
Feros has revealed over the past 18 months he has been approached on an almost weekly basis with unsolicited offers from various hotel operators for the two venues.
“We’ve got a few exciting greenfield hotel development sites in play across the other side of Sydney with more of a food and beverage theme, and that has been our focus for some time,” he said.
“The two hotels we’re selling have been great investments for us, but to maximise their respective potential, there are better operators for those types of assets than us.”
The decision by the multi-generational Feros Group to sell highlights Sydney's appetite for large format hotels with strong gaming revenue pedigree and further potential. In fact, gaming machine licences for pubs in New South Wales are trading for around $320,000 – the highest price in six years according to Ferrier Hodgson’s Morgan Kelly.
Kelly told the Australian Financial Review low interest rates and regulatory certainty has had some influence on the positive trading conditions.
The demand for quality gaming assets has been highlighted by the number of sales transacted recently, including Ray White’s sale of Eastwood Hotel and Jones Lang LaSalle’s sales of Rockdale’s Grand Hotel.
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