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Iris Capital buys Colombian Hotel

One of Sydney’s landmark drinking holes, the Colombian Hotel which has been regular meeting spot for the city’s LGBTQI community, has been acquired by Iris Capital.

The price wasn’t disclosed but it’s widely reported to be in excess of $15 million. The place last sold for $6.7 million in 2011.

The Colombian Hotel was put on the market after its owner, David McHugh relocated overseas.

The sale was handled by Andrew Jolliffe and Gerry Quinlan of Ray White Hotels.

"In a low interest rate cycle, the opportunity to invest in high yielding A-grade property assets complete with the potential to improve already impressive cash flow themes is seldom available" Mr Jolliffe told the Australian Financial Review.

"We were inundated from the moment we made public the proposed sale of the hotel, with enquiry ranging from well known national hoteliers and hotel groups; to astute local and international property developers," Mr Quinlan told the newspaper.

While Oxford Street has been less of a drawcard for the night life in recent years, business at the hotel has always been good because it has been a hub for the LGBTQI community.

Iris Capital has a portfolio of pubs and hotel that include includes Eastern Suburbs watering holes like the Clovelly Hotel, The Grand in Bondi Junction and the Bourbon in Potts Point as well as the Hunters Hill Hotel on the North Shore.

It has also been active managing the portfolio and offloading assets, selling the Crest Hotel in Potts Point and the Crown Hotel Parramatta for a combined price of $170 million to Chinese property giant Greenland.

The sale adds to the recent activity in hotel real estate with the Lantern Group recently offloading $50 million of assets and a private Melbourne property investor making a tidy 30 per cent gain in less than two years by selling the Redcliffe Tavern north of Brisbane, for $15 million.

Whether the Colombian continues to trade as a gay venue is still to be confirmed.

by Leon Gettler, 19th September 2016