NEWS
John Singleton and business partners sell Manly’s Hotel Steyne to Iris Capital for $60m-plus
AUSTRALIAN VENUE CO’S NEW QUEENSLAND ARM BUYS RIVERLAND BRISBANE HOTEL STEYNE SELLS TO IRIS CAPITAL; CEO EXPLAINS STRATEGY Specialist pub sales agents Andrew Jolliffe and Dan Dragicevich of HTL Property have confirmed the sale of the iconic Hotel Steyne in Sydney’s Manly. Hotel Steyne was purchased back in 2010 by the current owners, a group of investors including hotelier Arthur Laundy, businessman John Singleton and investors Mark Carnegie and Robert Whyte. The group put the Hotel Steyne up for sale in February when they were looking to exit from their one-off investment at a time of buoyant sales. The group have sold to Iris Capital for a “record price” according to a spokesperson for HTL Property, who was unable to disclose the price paid. However several sources have suggested to Australian Hotelier a price of around $62.5m would be likely and represent a record. “We are delighted to have acquired what is, on any fair test, Australia’s leading hotel property in the form of Manly’s iconic Hotel Steyne,” said Iris Capital founder Sam Arnaout. It is believed the Singleton group paid around $27m for the 160-year-old hotel back in 2010, when they purchased it from Bruce McHugh. The Hotel Steyne sale takes place just weeks after John Singleton bought the Elanora Hotel in East Gosford for around $25m. Explaining the group’s buying rationale, Arnaout told Australian Hotelier, “The acquisition of the [Hotel] Steyne is obviously a strategic one for the group. It now crowns the portfolio and gives us economies of scale across the group. Obviously from this, it gives us a good opportunity to leverage out from the wider portfolio, be it suppliers, giving us good benefits across the wider group.” The landmark and multi-level waterfront Hotel Steyne, spread across approximately 2,000sqm, was brought to market by high profile vendors John
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Singleton, Robert Whyte, Arthur Laundy and Mark Carnegie. “This positions our company, Iris Capital, as a genuine hospitality leader in this part of the world, and complements our macro coastal investment strategy in respect of similar landmark projects such as Newcastle’s $700m East End development,” said Arnaout. Iris Capital’s pubs portfolio already totals around 20 venues, including the Gaslight Inn, Darlinghurst, Empire Hotel, King’s Cross and the Grand Hotel, Bondi Junction. “When considering the sale of the Hotel Steyne in the context of our recent key transactions concluded in multiple states nationally this year, it remains our considered view that market strength and depth are not only positive, but also currently serve to embolden an already robust asset class,” said HTL Property National Director Dan Dragicevich. Arnaout confirms the group’s immediate plans are to maintain the status quo: “We don’t intend to disrupt the business, we intend to take the reins and maintain the status quo for the foreseeable future. For more than three or six months, probably the next 12 months.” Instead, the intention is, for the next 12 months, Arnaout says: “We look towards enacting that DA [for a] 48-room hotel. Generally a bit of TLC, bringing the joint back to its former glories is pretty much where our focus will be.” Arnaout is clearly not discounting the idea of expanding the group either. “We’re well positioned to take advantage of further acquisitions within the group,” he says. “This asset is certainly going to be given the attention it deserves, there’s no doubt about it. But our group is well positioned for scalability and we will be looking at further opportunities when they present themselves and that meet the group’s criteria.”
Queensland Venue Co (QVC) is to buy Brisbane venue Riverland from Craig Shearer’s Open Arms Hospitality. A Queensland Venue Co (QVC) spokesperson has confirmed its first acquisition. This from the recently announced joint venture between Australian Venue Co and Coles Liquor that now owns and manages the former Spirit Hotels portfolio and its associated retail liquor stores. Australian Venue Co CEO Paul Waterson said Riverland was an exciting addition to the Queensland Venue Co joint venture. “Riverland is a great business with a premier location. This acquisition allows us to grow our pub footprint in the Brisbane market while also giving Coles Liquor the opportunity to expand their retail liquor presence in Queensland as part of our joint venture,” he said. “We very much appreciate the current owners’ support in the transition phase, we are looking forward to working alongside the current team at Riverland to continue to deliver locals with great food, drinks and entertainment.” Open Arms Hospitality Director Craig Shearer said the Open Arms team would miss Riverland, which they had developed from a greenfield site. “Whenever you put that much time, effort and resources into a project over a number of years it is hard to not become attached, however the sale will allow us to seek more potential development or acquisition sites to complement our current portfolio consisting of the Plough Inn Brisbane and Public House Albury”. Riverland opened in 2017 and boasts a solid location on the Brisbane River, along with a food and drink offering and entertainment. Decor features an industrial fit-out, an open-air beer garden, a 24-metre long bar and converted shipping containers serving street food from Brisbane food vendors. Under the terms of the QVC joint venture, which was finalised in late April, Australian Venue Co now manages the day-to-day operations of all hotels in the QVC portfolio in addition to its own venues. Riverland will be managed by Australian Venue Co alongside their other Brisbane venues, including The Regatta, Darling & Co., Kingsleys, Buffalo Bar and Fridays.
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