Roche family sells Gold Coast pub amid tourism boom
The billionaire Roche family has offloaded their Gold Coast pub, Harrigan's Calypso Bay for $10 million to private hotelier Ric Adams, as interest in coastal hospitality venues soars.
The Irish-themed pub, which the family has operated for 17 years, was sold amid expectations of a strong domestic tourism season.
Through the sale, the Roche Group, known for its large-scale residential, tourism, and agricultural projects, aims to focus on its core business.
Imelda Roche, a prominent figure on The Australian's The List, and her late husband Bill, built their fortune through the global cosmetics company Nutrimetics. The family's extensive property portfolio now includes significant tourism assets like the Hunter Valley Gardens.
The Roche Group's development pipeline, encompassing projects like Calypso Bay, Cameron Park, and Harrington Waters Estate, exceeds 10,000 residential blocks.
“With a terrific building structure and outlook the hotel will only require a cosmetic refresh, which will include the food and beverage offer. Harrigan’s name will remain with the vendor, so rebranding will form part of the refresh,” Adams said.
“We aim for our refresh to embrace the beauty of Moreton Bay but also the surrounding farm lands.”
Adams is the owner of the Central Hotel in Gladstone.
Harrigan's Calypso Bay is a sought-after waterfront property that boasts multiple bars, a bistro, outdoor dining areas, function spaces, a gaming room with 11 gaming machine entitlements, and three detached bottle shop licenses.
HTL Property agents Xavier Plunkett and Glenn Price facilitated the sale. The campaign generated significant interest, attracting over 10 formal offers from a diverse pool of buyers, including local and interstate hoteliers and institutions.
Plunkett was optimistic about the property's future under new ownership. With a strong local management team, he anticipates further growth and potential future sales within the hospitality sector.
“The sale of this unique waterfront hospitality asset follows a collection of other southeast Queensland sales we … will shortly disclose to the market,” HTL Property managing director Andrew Jolliffe said.
HTL Property continues to see robust demand for premium hotel assets, as evidenced by the recent sale of Cabarita Beach Hotel. According to HTL Property Director, Andrew Jolliffe, this transaction highlights the ongoing appetite for A-grade coastal properties nationwide. The company is poised to announce additional southeast Queensland hotel sales totalling $100 million before the year's end.
In another significant deal, HTL Property facilitated the sale of the historic Friend in Hand Hotel in Glebe, Sydney. This marks the third time the property has changed hands in the past six years.
Previous owner Momento Hospitality, acquired the hotel off-market in 2021 from Young Family Hotels.
The Riley Group, led by Ray Reilly, has now acquired the Glebe pub, adding it to their growing portfolio of inner-west Sydney hotels.
Jonathan Jackson, 11th December 2024
