The Commercial Hotel, a freehold going concern in Ipswich’s Redbank, has been purchased in an off-market sale facilitated by CBRE.
The new owners are an independent pub group led by former CUB CEO Peter Filipovic, who recently joined HTL Capital, and Patrick Ryan of the Ryan’s Hotel Group.
Ryan said: “We are delighted to have retained the Commercial’s passionate staff, and will endeavour to keep the pub genuine, and at the heart of the Redbank community as it has been for over 100 years.”
The Commercial Hotel is situated on a large site of over 2,700sqm, located in a prime position just 300m from Redbank Train Station and the Ipswich Motorway.
A sports bar, the venue also contains a TAB area and separate gaming room, with 24 machines, alongside an outdoor dining area, up-to-date kitchen and bistro. An on-site bottle shop and four accommodation rooms provide additional income streams.
The Commercial was recently refurbished at a cost of $650,000, meaning that little immediate expense is required from the incoming ownership.
The Hotel was purchased from Roconcil Pty Ltd, who itself acquired the asset for $6m in 2018 in another sale brokered by CBRE.
Gerry Murphy, Managing Director of former owners Roconcil, believes the company has left a strong legacy for the new owners.
“Since purchasing the venue, the community has welcomed and supported us all the way through. We are extremely proud of what we have achieved in a short period and wish the new owners nothing but success,” Murphy said.
CBRE Hotels Investment and Brokerage Queensland Director, Paul Fraser, contextualised the sale within wider market trends.
“This sale highlights that demand for assets located in South East Queensland has outstripped supply from astute southern buyers looking to reallocate capital with value and long term growth opportunities,” Fraser said.
“The Commercial Hotel is situated in a strong Queensland gaming market, which provides substantial underlying value, supported by the asset’s 24 gaming machines,” Mr Fraser noted.
“The venue is a consistent top 200 gaming performer in Queensland, which is extremely impressive given it largely competes against assets with over 35 machines.
“The latest gaming machine authority tender results have highlighted robust growth, with the average authority price now sitting at $281,500 in Queensland’s South-East – up 42 per cent since last year.”
And with the Olympics on the way to Brisbane in a decade’s time, Fraser expects demand for SE Queensland pubs to remain high into the future.
“South East Queensland has become an attractive market nationally with record infrastructure spending, comparative pricing, lifestyle choices and the Olympic Games all seen as favourable short, medium and long term attributes for the State,” Fraser concluded.