Ludlow Group buys Wollongong’s Five Islands Hotel
Oscars Hotels has sold Wollongong’s Five Islands Hotel 10 months after a major renovation.
The 64 year old venue, previously known as the Cringila Village Inn or South Pacific Hotel, is trading for $20.7 million to Paddy Coughlan’s Ludlow Group.
The vendor, led by Sydney brothers Bill and Mario Gravanis, paid $1.1m in 2017.
It previously exchanged for $1.65m in May, 2000.
Last month, Oscars sold Darlinghurst’s The Strand Hotel to Jon Adgemis’ JAGA Group for $17m.
In March, the operator paid former Rothschild managing director David Kingston c$20m for Toukley’s Beachcomber Resort with plans for a major renovation.
Five Islands Hotel
Mr Coughlan, who co-founded Riversdale Group before stepping down as chief executive officer in 2014, is expected to seed the Ludlow Pub Opportunity Fund, backed by New York based investors, with the Cringila hotel (story continues below).
On c2331 square metres at 87-93 Five Islands Road, on the south east corner of Lake Avenue, about five kilometres south of Wollongong, the property is fit out with a sports bar and bistro with outdoor seating.
The venue also has TAB facilities, 22 electronic gambling machines and 12 hotel rooms. Cringila is about 100 kilometres south of Sydney.
“We are delighted to launch the new Ludlow Hospitality Fund with such a quality cornerstone asset and for the opportunity to become part of the local Cringila community”, Mr Coughlan said.
JLL’s John Musca, who brokered the off-market deal with Kate MacDonald, added “we continue to experience the convergence of compelling investment metrics, differing capital profiles and latent asset demand that is driving an extraordinary level of transactional activity, in what remains a highly regulated and protected asset class”.
“Market enthusiasm remains across all hotel business profiles evidenced by the disproportionately large number of transactions being affected in an off-market manner”, according to Ms MacDonald.
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