Oscars pick up Caves Beach hotel, cabins
Bill and Mario Gravanis’ Oscars Hotels has swooped on the modern Caves Beach Hotel in a speculated $35 million deal which sets a record for a Newcastle region hospitality venue.
The Malouf family’s Royal Hotels Group was the vendor.
On Mawson Close, the asset includes a 13 year old, double storey venue known as Caves, with indoor and outdoor drinking and dining.
Abutting this property to the north, and with access from Seaside Close, are 39 multi-level guests cabins.
Both components overlook Caves Beach.
The deal is the latest in a string around the Hunter and Port Macquarie region – being announced less than a week since Don Hodge Group outlaid $33m for Mount Hutton’s Lake Macquarie Tavern, 14km south west of Newcastle.
Last month, Danielle Richardson, the daughter of publican Arthur Laundy, with her husband, Shane, spent $13m on the Orana Hotel at Blacksmiths, about four kilometres north of Caves Beach.
Several major pub deals were struck in central or suburban Newcastle last year including the Duke of Wellington at New Lambton (which traded for $16m), the Grand Hotel in Newcastle East ($6m) and the Lucky Hotel ($20m).
Following the sale of the Caves Beach property, Royal Hotels retains, in Sydney, the Royal Oak Hotel at Double Bay and Gregory Hills Hotel in the south west (story continues below).
Caves Beach Hotel
Also referred to as the Caves Beach Coastal Bar and Bungalows, Oscars’ latest asset occupies a large site with development upside.
“The sheer scale and waterfront positioning of the Caves Beach Hotel is a remarkable feature of the significant asset,” HTL Property’s Dan Dragicevich, who marketed the asset with Andrew Jolliffe, said.
“Notwithstanding, the diversity of revenue streams feeding into the business is also a most powerful differentiator” he added.
A Royal Hotels representative said “we have enjoyed our time building the Caves Beach Hotel business and relationships within the community and look favourably towards the continued growth…by such esteemed operators as are Oscars Hotels so widely renowned”.
Mr Jolliffe said hospitality businesses generating $10m-plus of annual revenue, on large land holdings, are the “vanguard” of key investor acquisition objectives nationally.
“However, the reality is that there are very few of these unique business and coastal property plays in existence generally, let alone able to be acquired” according to the executive.
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