The Mornington Peninsula’s iconic St Andrews Beach Brewery on significant 92-acre landbank comes to market

One of Victoria’s most highly coveted hospitality assets has come to market, the famed ‘St Andrews Beach Brewery’ on the Mornington Peninsula.

Presenting as one of 2023’s most unique acquisition opportunities, the freehold going concern of the multi-award-winning venue and its 92-acre site is being exclusively offered for sale by JLL Hotels & Hospitality’s Will Connolly, Peter Harper and Lachlan Persley via Expressions of Interest.

Celebrated as one of the state’s most dynamic venues, St Andrews Beach Brewery is a leading Mornington Peninsula leisure brand, with a complementary wholesale business that has exciting expansion opportunities. St Andrews Beach Brewery also provides one of the most significant coastal land-banking opportunities to come to market in 2023, with an enormous 92 acres of land available within the heart of what is known to many as ‘the playground of the rich and famous’ and home to some of the country’s most exclusive real estate.

The property was formerly known as ‘Markdel’, a world-renowned horse training facility once owned by the Freedman brothers, one of Australia’s most successful racehorse trainers, which housed and trained over 100 group winners, including some of Australia’s most legendary thoroughbreds, ‘Makybe Diva’, ‘Mummify’ and ‘Alinghi’.

In 2017, the property was redefined to create a state-of-the-art hospitality venue and on-site brewery which quickly became one of Victoria’s most talked about entertainment destinations. The venue features an expansive beer garden, including private dining areas that were converted from the original stables that once housed Australia’s horse racing legends, additional function zones, a fully equipped commercial kitchen and public bar, and an abundance of patron parking. 

Both the property and venue come with valuable infrastructure including a 25-hectolitre brewing facility along with on-site manufacturing including canning and storage. The former racetrack is now home to a 6,000-tree orchard producing their popular cider, providing for complete on-site beverage manufacturing, wholesale and retail abilities. The property also comes with 100 megalitres of highly valuable annual ground water rights.

Located just over an hour’s drive from Melbourne’s CBD, the property is located amongst some of Australia’s most renowned golf courses and tourism destinations, including Moonah Links Golf Course, Gunnamatta Surf Beach and Peninsula Hot Springs, encouraging the requirement to diversify the property further by way of on-site accommodation (STCA). 

Will Connolly, Senior Vice President, JLL Hotels & Hospitality, expects significant interest in the asset. “We’re extremely privileged to offer to market both a dynamic hospitality venue together with a significant parcel of land in the heart of our incredible Mornington Peninsula”, he commented. 

“Our team expect to field interest from a diverse mix of buyers, ranging from high net worth individuals and private syndicates identifying the asset’s enviable attributes, to national hospitality operators and beverage brands who will view the clear upside in the current venue as well as the scalability of the ‘St Andrews Beach Brewery’ brand either in its own right or through vertical integration” he concluded. 

Peter Harper, Managing Director, JLL Hotels & Hospitality, said, “Rarely do trophy assets offer so much upside, yet that’s exactly what St Andrews Beach Brewery provides. An incoming investor, whether established or not in the sector, could quite easily come in and continue to run as-is, or look to take the asset to its obvious next level and replicate the many success stories we’ve seen across similar ventures”.

Expressions of Interests are being sought by Wednesday 11 October 2023 at 5:00pm (AEST).

JLL, 4^th September 2023