There is set to be a changing of the guard at the Rydges Hotel in Carlton for the first time in two decades after the venue was sold to Carlton Hotel Holdings for an undisclosed price.

Situated at 701 Swanston Street, the hotel comprises 107 rooms spanning five storeys on a sizeable corner land parcel of 1,762 sqm overlooking Lincoln Square park.

The transaction comes after a competitive Expressions of Interest campaign which generated more than 200 buyer enquires and received 12 genuine and reputable bids from a range of investors, hoteliers add-value players and developers.

At a glance: 

• ​The Rydges Hotel Carlton at 701 Swanson Street has been sold to Carlton Hotel Holdings for an undisclosed amount.
• The transaction was negotiated by Jones Real Estate's Paul Jones and Tim Spargo, in conjunction with Colliers International’s Oliver Hay, Guy Wells and Trent Hobart following a competitive Expressions of Interest campaign.
• According to Colliers and Jones Real Estate, Carlton Hotel Holdings Director Ross Pelligra is in the midst of discussions with major operators with the aim of giving the hotel a fresh start in 2021.

The sale was negotiated by Jones Real Estate's Paul Jones and Tim Spargo, in conjunction with Colliers International’s Oliver Hay, Guy Wells and Trent Hobart following the conclusion of the campaign on Thursday, August 24.

Mr Jones said the "heightened" competitive bidding environment resulted in a premium sale price being achieved.

"The strong buyer response was due to the property’s prime location, development upside, and limited supply of assets of this quality being offered to the market," he said.

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Source: Colliers 

Mr Hay said the scarcity of quality commercial property in Melbourne had seen strong sale prices and low cap rates becoming increasingly common despite the current pandemic.

“We anticipated interest from a broad range of buyer groups given the corner position, uninterrupted park views and overall flexibility of the asset coupled with the underlying Melbourne market fundamentals,” he said.

“The addition of the soon to be completed Parkville train station only a couple of hundred metres away further enhanced the connectivity and popularity of the location.

"We are dealing with an abundance of unsatisfied capital for similar assets within the Melbourne precinct.”

According to Colliers and Jones Real Estate, Carlton Hotel Holdings Director Ross Pelligra is in the midst of discussions with major operators with the aim of giving the hotel a fresh start in 2021. 

Mr Wells said it was positive to see a hotel investor become successful purchaser given the current headwinds of closed borders and travel restrictions.

“It’s pleasing to see an ongoing appetite for hoteliers in the current environment, particularly groups who can appreciate the longer-term fundamentals of the sector," he said.

"Throughout the campaign, a number of hotel groups expressed an appetite for acquisitions, we can see through the transaction that capital is actively looking into the sector, which bodes well for increased sentiment returning to the market through the latter stages of 2020 and into 2021.”

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