Redcape divests Cremorne hotel for $39m
MA Financial backed Redcape has sold Cremorne’s Minskys Hotel after two decades.
The freehold going concern for the asset, which includes 1700 square metres of commercial space over the pub, has collected $39 million from the Karellas family in partnership with Mitchell Waugh’s Public House Management Group, which is expected to operate it.
JLL Hotel & Hospitality’s John Musca and Ben McDonald with Gordon McFadyen, from the agency’s Metropolitan Sales & Investments division, represented the vendor, which recently delisted.
Sixty five offers came in, they said.
Redcape will tip proceeds into its other assets including the O’Donoghue’s Hotel at Emu Plains which it purchased for $30.5m last year and neighbouring Darlinghurst venues, acquired in 2020.
The Karellas family holds a substantial commercial property portfolio including an office behind Minskys.
Uber competitive campaign: JLL
Minskys sold against c$35m expectations.
Renowned for its piano bar and with a 4am liquor licence and 25 electronic gambling machines, the asset at 287 Military Road generates weekly revenue in excess of $160,000 (story continues below).
With 3344 square metres of area, Mr McDonald said it offered significant value-add potential, be it via a repositioning or sell-down of commercial suites and bottle shop.
The campaign was one of the most competitive he has managed since the 2017 peak, he added.
“The sale attracted the interest of hoteliers, private investors and property groups in equal measure,” according to the executive.
“With a myriad of reconfiguration options, the underutilised first floor commercial space and bar areas were a key attraction for those seeking to unlock the full commercial and trading potential of the asset”.
According to JLL Research, c$1.3 billion of pubs have changed hands this year – including Casula’s Crossroads Hotel, which collected $160m – a national record pub price – from ex-Sydney lord mayor Nelson Meers.
That deal smashed the $104m watermark outlaid for an Australian asset of this type, set in 2019 when Byron Bay’s Beach Hotel sold, coincidentally to MA Financial.
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