Medich family sells Buena Vista Hotel in Mosman for $16m

The Medich family has sold the Buena Vista Hotel in Mosman, on Sydney’s lower north shore, for about $16 million after buying it last year for $13m.

The two-storey 900sq m landmark, which was owned by the Medich’s Halcyon Hotels, was purchased by an undisclosed private equity buyer and will be managed by Public House Management Group.

The property was marketed by Ray White Hotels Australia’s Andrew Jolliffe and Joel Fisher, who last month brokered the sale of the Newport Arms to Merivale.

Halcyon chief executive Anthony Medich already had launched a process to refurbish and reposition the pub, lodging an extensive development application, not yet approved, with Mosman Council.

Mr Jolliffe said while the development plans had led to expectations Halcyon would hold the hotel indefinitely, the opportunity to sell led to a rethink.

“The Buena Vista is patently one of those hotels which enjoys almost folklore status within the hotel industry, and apart from being a fantastic business within the Mosman economic community, the property’s prime position on Middle Head Road makes it a commercial property of significant nature,” he said.

“There’s only ever been one Buena Vista Hotel in Mosman, and the barriers to entry for another are simply too numerous and too onerous to even begin contemplating.”

That purchase came weeks after Halcyon, owned by the Medich Corporation, purchased the Centennial Hotel in the city’s east. The company also owns the Woolwich Pier Hotel in the north and the inner-city Woolloomooloo Bay Hotel.

Source: The Australian    Kylar Loussikian   May 28th 2015