Byron Bay’s Beach Hotel on the market
The big news is that one of Australia’s most iconic pubs, the Beach Hotel in Byron Bay, has dropped its asking price to $75 million.
Melbourne businessman Max Twigg, who is also a race car driver and who had made his money in waste management, put it on the market expecting it would fetch as much as $80 million.
According to CoreLogic records, he had paid $44 million for the pub on Bay Street when he bought it in mid-2007 from its developer, John Cornell, who is best known for co-writing (with Paul Hogan) and producing the global box office hit, Crocodile Dundee, in 1986.
The film grossed $US360 million worldwide, turning Hogan into an international film star.
Cornell turned to hotel development four years later, building the hotel on the Byron Bay foreshore for about $9 million. It didn’t take long for it to become the coastal town's largest and most lucrative entertainment venue. Hence the sales price.
The hotel is well-located in one of Australia's most famous beach towns, the spot Lonely Planet describes as "one great barefooted, alternative-lifestyle mash-up".
The locals call the Beach Hotel “Top Pub”.
“The property is a landmark investment with professional management and a 10 x 10-year lease in place,” agent Remax Coastal told The Australian.
The hotel is leased to Melbourne pub industry identity John van Haandel until mid-2017. It comes with further two, 10-year lease options.
The annual income it brings in is around $4.2 million.
The hotel occupies a 4485 square metre corner site.
It also has several bars and bistros overlooking Byron Bay’s surf, a gaming room, 25 on-site hotel rooms and conference facilities as well as a pool with heated spa.
The sale come at a time when demand for East Coast pubs is soaring with many being sold at top prices.
by Leon Gettler, April 21st 2017
