$80m southeast Queensland pub portfolio hits market

WO southeast Queensland pub portfolios worth an estimated $80 million are on the market.

Drinx is offering large pubs The Belvedere Hotel in Redcliffe, The Full Moon in Shorncliffe and the central business district’s The Grand Central.

AT Hotel Group is selling Brisbane’s Stafford Tavern and the Sugarlands Tavern, in Bundaberg.

JLL Hotels and Hospitality is marketing the portfolios through expressions-of-interest campaigns.

Director of investment sales John Musca said the Queensland market was starting to pick up, following $250m of pub sales last year. Recent sales include prominent Brisbane pubs, The Norman, The Exchange and the Elephant and Wheelbarrow.

“There was a flurry of activity towards the end of 2014 with the strength of the market being highlighted by the Independent Pub Group exiting the Queensland market with all of their seven pubs sold through us over an 18-month period,” Mr Musca said. Both The Belvedere and The Full Moon offer bayside views and feature a diverse income stream.

“Assets with large food and beverage divisions, alongside gaming revenues, are no longer seen as daunting propositions as operators fine tune their offerings and look to establish nationally recognised and acclaimed venues,” Mr Musca said.

He noted the favourable lending conditions and stronger value in Queensland compared to NSW and pointed to increasing gaming authority licence prices over the last two years.

JLL senior vice-president Paul Fraser said the Stafford and Sugarlands taverns were large “gaming centric” and retail operations.

“The gaming authority pricing in Queensland is often used as a barometer as to how the sector is travelling,” she said. “Confidence in this revenue stream has slowly been restored after years of uncertainty.”

Source : The Australian Business Review     Rosanne Barret    19th February 2015