South Melbourne’s Wayside Inn leased
JLL Hotels & Hospitality Group is delighted to announce the recent leasing of the Wayside Inn, South Melbourne as 2021 starts off with a flurry of market activity in the pub sector.
The off-market leasing campaign was facilitated by JLL Hotels & Hospitality Group’s Vice President, Will Connolly, who was appointed following JLL Hotels’ successful sale of the property last year, in the midst of Melbourne’s Stage 4 COVID restrictions.
Occupying a prominent corner site on the busy intersection of City Road and Ferrars Street, the property presented in excellent condition with features including a large public bar area, dining room with adjacent courtyard and beer garden, upstairs function room with a dedicated bar and balcony with views of the CBD skyline. The property included the added benefit of a rare 5:00am late night liquor licence.
“As soon as contracts were exchanged for the property, our successful purchaser immediately appointed us to secure a long term tenant for the property. Shorty after this appointment, it became apparent that there was certainly still an appetite in operators seeking to secure well positioned hospitality sites such as the Wayside. Multiple leasing offers were reviewed and ultimately a great outcome was achieved for our
new owners”, said Mr Connolly.
The venue was secured by Vinay Bhandarkar, who currently operates both The Cornerstone, Port Melbourne and The Irish Times Pub in Melbourne’s CBD.
With Mr Bhandarkar noting “Our team plan is ultimately to ‘re-set’ the Wayside back to what it was in its more successful years, which was a far more simple offering of consistent food, and an all-day drinking trade that can take advantage of the property’s flexible, late night liquor licence.
We feel we have also secured the venue at the right time for the area, with multiple residential developments due shortly for completion or in the midst of construction, bringing new customers to our doorstep.”
The recent leasing of the Wayside Inn follows a spike in market activity with JLL Hotels & Hospitality transacting the freehold of the iconic Emerald Hotel, South Melbourne in December 2020 along with the leasehold of the Grosvenor Hotel, St Kilda East in January this year.
JLL Hotels & Hospitality Group, 4th February 2021
