Victoria’s gaming hotel market continues to fire with Black Rhino Group acquiring the Freehold Going Concern of the Cardinia Park Hotel, Beaconsfield at $25.4m. The transaction was brokered exclusively off-market by JLL Hotels & Hospitality Senior Vice President, Will Connolly.

Occupying a commanding 48,976sqm land-holding within the heart of Victoria’s South-Eastern growth corridor, the Cardinia Park Hotel enjoys a healthy and diverse revenue stream by way of 45 electronic gaming machines, an expansive family bistro, a fully refurbished public bar, significant function space and generous outdoor dining zones. The hotel was successfully operated by prominent Victorian hoteliers, the Deegan family, who own and successfully operate a number of venues across the South-East of Metropolitan Melbourne.

Marking yet another significant transaction within Victoria’s gaming hotel landscape, selling agent Will Connolly commented; “The sale of the Cardinia Park is a perfect example of the aggression shown within our market for hotel assets of this ilk, with a balanced mix of departmental revenue, an incredibly well maintained and presented venue and a solid reputation within the area. What cannot be under-estimated though with this particular transaction is the land-banking aspect with close to 5 hectares of land within one of Metropolitan Melbourne’s most rapidly expanding locations.”

Black Rhino Group, one of Australia’s largest private gaming hotel operators with an ever-expanding portfolio of 37 hotels across both Victoria and South Australia, see the Cardinia Park as being a landmark acquisition for the group, with Dave Tomsic, Managing Director, commenting “we’re thrilled to be taking the reins of such a well-regarded venue and look forward to taking the Cardinia Park Hotel to its next chapter and join the Black Rhino family. We thank JLL for uncovering another sensational addition to the group.”

The sale of the Cardinia Park Hotel at $25.4m marks another significant Victorian transaction brokered by JLL Hotels & Hospitality Group in 2022, with notable sales including the much-publicized West Waters Hotel, Caroline Springs at $85m, officially Victoria’s largest ever pub sale, along with a slew of iconic coastal sales in early 2022 including the Apollo Bay Hotel, Wye River Hotel and Collendina Caravan Park all for a combined $90m.

“As evidenced by The Cardinia Park Hotel, pub sales of this nature and scale are typically transacted in a discreet, off-market process, it’s critical then that we at JLL as pub specialists hold this level of discretion and continue to maintain our market leading depth of buyer pool that we can readily access across the hotel market, as we focus on satisfying the constant buyer appetite within Victoria’s pub landscape. With this in mind, we look forward to announcing further landmark, off-market transactions within Victoria, prior to this year’s conclusion”, concluded Connolly.