Endeavour seeks to buy landmark Mornington Peninsula pub
Endeavour Group is seeking to buy the Rye Hotel and adjoining bottle shop for more than $50 million.
The off-market deal, struck with Peter Houghton, whose family has owned the property for five decades, is now being assessed by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.
The venue would be added to a portfolio with some 330 more, controlled by subsidiary ALH Hotels, majority held by Woolworths, also backed by the Mathieson family.
Endeavour also owns the BWS and Dan Murphy’s brands – part of a 1600-store network.
JLL’s Will Connolly brokered the deal.
“The process being undertaken by Endeavour Group for their proposed acquisition of the Rye Hotel is certainly standard across many of their dealings on a national level,” he said.
“Given the Rye Hotel has been under long term family ownership, all parties relating to the proposed transaction have remained incredibly respectful through the process to date to which our vendors, the Houghton family, certainly appreciate,” he added.
“We look forward to assisting both our vendor and the proposed purchaser, Endeavour Group, through to completion and the start of a new exciting chapter for the Rye Hotel,” according to the executive (story continues below).
Rye Hotel
At 2415-2445 Point Nepean Road, at the western edge of a retail strip, and with rear access to Nelson St, the Rye Hotel includes 43 suites, a bar, restaurant and gaming room with TAB facilities.
The Houghtons renovated it during COVID.
Thirsty Camel – a rival of BWS and Dan Murphy’s – and which we reported in March purchased a South Melbourne office for its headquarters, leases the bottle shop.
The ACCC is calling for views from the public and other retailers by June 20.
Any deal would come five months since Endeavour paid Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy $19m for one of Margaret River’s five founding wineries – Cape Mantelle. Last May, meanwhile, the group acquired Darwin’s Beachfront Hotel for c$25m.
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