Two Gold Coast pubs sell for $60m

Two Gold Coast pubs sold for $60m on Friday via Expression of Interest (EOI) campaigns.

The Varsity Lakes Tavern and Dan Murphy’s in Burleigh Waters (pictured above) was sold for $38 million to a Korean family based in Melbourne who had been looking for commercial investment properties in Victoria for 12 months before turning their sights to Queensland.

The other venue that sold was Pimpama Central Tavern, located at the northern end of the Gold Coast. It was sold off the plan for $22.2 million to another private family investor ahead of its completion in mid-2022.

Billy Holderhead, Partner at Burgess Rawson said the two asset sales, located at opposite ends of the Gold Coast’s rapidly growing corridor, demonstrated the underlying strength of Queensland’s pub market.

“Pubs are certainly appealing to investors looking to channel frustrated capital into high performing asset classes with quality tenants,” Mr Holderhead said, “Opportunities like these are few and far between and bidders were highly motivated.”  

The Varsity Lakes Tavern and Dan Murphy’s is operated by ALH and the 17,000sqm freehold site enjoys a high profile 128m frontage to Southport Burleigh Road.

The 7,862sqm freehold site includes a drive-thru bottle shop and is fully leased to the Good Times Pub Group and independent operator with a portfolio of leading hotels and taverns across South East Queensland.

The sale of Pimpama Central Tavern was jointly marketed by Glenn Conridge, Partner at Burgess Rawson and Pat Kelly, Principal of Kelly & Co Property.

Mr Conridge said the Expression of Interest campaign attracted interest from across the country and internationally.

“Pimpama Central Tavern presented a rare opportunity to invest in a brand new, architecturally designed tavern on a massive corner site in the heart of one of the fastest-growing regions in the country,” Mr Conridge said.

Mr Conridge said the advantages of its location were combined with a 10-year lease, plus two 10-year options and 3% annual rent reviews.

“This is an excellent outcome for an exceptional investment opportunity and sets a new bar for the northern end of the Gold Coast,” Mr Conridge  said.

Australian Venue Co

In other on-premise news from Queensland, Australian Venue Co’s renovated Bribie Island Hotel re-opens next week after a $2.2 million dollar renovation and renovations have begun on its Dunwoody’s Hotel in Cairns (pictured below).

AVC’s Chief Operating Officer, Craig Ellison said, “Dunwoody’s Hotel has proudly served the North Cairns community for nearly 30 years, and our locals have well and truly earned a refreshed pub! We’re investing heavily in this venue to deliver a total transformation for our locals.”

AVC will be spending $2.5m on the major revitalisation project at Dunwoody's, including the addition of a new outdoor bar and a new dining area in the beer garden. AVC will also be looking to grow the on-premise team before re-opening the venue. Hiring will begin in December.

AVC is investing heavily into the Queensland market, having recently undertaken multi-million dollar renovations at several venues across the state, such as Crown Hotel in Lutwyche, Beenleigh Tavern and Kings Beach Tavern on the Sunshine Coast.

Bribie Island Hotel's new look includes a refreshed bistro and a sprawling and family-friendly beer garden with large lawn games and renovated gaming room.

AVC’s Chief Operating Officer, Craig Ellison, said, “Bribie Island is a very special place, so we want to reflect that casual island charm in the new pub, while offering our locals the best experience with modern design, new activities and fresh food & drinks menus.

“We really listen to our locals. At the start of the renovation we did a customer survey to inform the changes we’d make, and last week we invited a group of local residents and business owners in for dinner to preview the menu and get their feedback. It’s important to us to make sure we’ve built what the community want.”