By Andrew Starke
Investment banker, Mark Carnegie, and veteran advertising stalwart, John Singleton, have announced ambitious plans to buy distressed assets from struggling pub owners.
A $100 million fund, the Lazard Carnegie Wylie Private Equity fund, will seek to take advantage of plummeting values in the pub sector, with both founders feeling the worst is over.
The fund purchased its first property last week when it spent $12 million to acquire the Kinselas Hotel in Darlinghurst.
“We think about $4 billion worth of pubs will be traded in the next 12 to 24 months,” Carnegie told the Australian Financial Review. “It's a simple case of more sellers than buyers.”
Sydney hotelier Patrick Coughlan and the Riverside Group will operate the Lazard fund’s pub portfolio.