The JLL Hotels & Hospitality Group has signalled its intention to hit the ground running post Covid-19.

Showing confidence that transaction levels will escalate quickly, JLL has appointed experienced brokers Ben McDonald and Kate MacDonald.

Both join the highly successful JLL Sydney team headed by National Director John Musca to service the increasing needs of NSW hoteliers.

Musca said JLL is coming off a record 2019, with 52% of total Sydney pub transactions being brokered by JLL.

“Whilst the past couple of months have seen transactions retract, there has still been a demand for our services as buyers and sellers look to us to get an understanding of how the market is faring behind the scenes,” Mr Musca said.

“The addition of Ben and Kate is a sign of our commitment to clients seeking a more professional service."

Mr McDonald will concentrate on the Sydney metropolitan market and Ms MacDonald other parts of coastal, rural and regional NSW.

Mr McDonald said one of his main reasons for moving to JLL is to work with Musca “who has been a market leader and dominant force in the Sydney market for some time. I see huge upside in joining forces with John, continuing to add value to our client base and enhance the enviable track record he and the JLL team has established.

“I truly believe that JLL has been the class leading in the pub brokerage space for well over a decade.”

Ms MacDonald, who two years ago knocked the New York Marathon off her bucket list, said she was looking forward to the industry getting back into full swing. “I think there will be some pent-up demand with virtually no sales for several months and we will need to be ready.

"I think my skills are fairly unique. From changing a keg at midnight during busy trade, to Business Development Manager at PKF where I implemented best practice financial procedures in some of the best pubs in NSW. This breadth of experience has provided me with valuable insight as a pub broker."

“Ben and Kate will provide wide-ranging advice to industry stakeholders, from sensitivity analyses to transaction structuring and capital deployment strategies.  Their expertise and relationships will form an integral part of the JLL NSW offering,” Mr Musca said.

Mr Musca said he believes the market will reset and normalise towards the end of 2021 leading into 2022.

“Hotel investments remain a rapidly consolidating and tightly held asset class of choice,” he said. "From a trade perspective, experience suggests the hotel businesses with a limited risk profile that are particularly gaming and wagering centric, are likely to bounce back the fastest in most locations, be that in the metropolitan areas of the capital cities or larger regional centres.

“Hotels in coastal locations within a three-hour drive of the capitals are also likely to benefit from international travel restrictions.  The market will polarise between tightening demand for triple A assets and hotel businesses with uncertain or more fickle patronage exposure effecting trading trajectories."

Mr Musca said the Government’s proactive approach in recognising hospitality businesses is central to the fabric of our communities and balancing it with protection of our health, has been critical.

“The industry continues to hope, and in some instances need, the opening of operations without adjournment as staged, and eventually unrestricted, trade is at the heart of the recovery.

“We are currently busy assisting clients and funders with sensitivity analyses and portfolio planning across the board and expect brokerage activity to follow a Nike swoosh trajectory in the medium term.”

JLL Hotels & Hospitality has an experienced team of 30 in Australia making it the largest specialist hospitality agency in the country. Independent analyst firm Real Capital Analytics has ranked JLL the No.1 hotel advisory in Asia Pacific for nine successive years.

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