“The sale of these two Hotels on behalf of separate vendors is reflective of a number of recent and significant Newcastle region hotel sales to experienced Sydney hoteliers, who are investing time assessing the many opportunities found in an area so close to Sydney; and so alive with public and private sector infrastructure investment” advised HTL National Pubs Director Dan Dragicevich.

Situated prominently on the Pacific Highway, The Belmont Hotel comprises a large format multifaceted offering over 3753 sqm and including 23 valuable gaming devices.

“Newcastle, and other non-Sydney Metro centres have been a deliberate and strategic focus of HTL’s and the depth of interest from our active database of buyers meant that when The Irvin Group engaged us to facilitate a transaction in respect of their Belmont Hotel asset, we were able to do so particularly efficiently” advised HTL Property’s Managing Director Andrew Jolliffe.

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HTL Property’s Managing Director, Andrew Jolliffe.

“Our objective was to realize a positive sale and then redeploy the capital elsewhere, which is precisely the process HTL Property executed on our behalf” advised Belmont Hotel vendor and multiple NSW and QLD hotel owner Joe Irvin.

“We’ve been deliberate in searching for acquisition opportunities such as the Belmont Hotel, and given our ownership of the nearby Warners At The Bay, feel that there will exist some potential operational synergies which provided us some additional attraction to the proposition” commented the Belmont purchaser and well- regarded Sydney Publican Don Hodge.

The Salamander Tavern in Port Stephens was also sold in a separate off market transaction. The large format venue was one of the first of the new wave of greenfield Hotels built in NSW some 15 years ago and sits adjacent to the Woolworths-anchored Salamander Bay Shopping Centre. The transaction marks another step in the significant turnover of Hotels in the LGA following the reinvigoration of the Salamander Shores Hotel under stewardship of Bannisters as well as the re-launch of the Country Club Hotel in Shoal Bay by Andrew Lazarus.

“The major city markets will continue to enjoy greater prominence in terms of both volume and weighting, however the emergence of a patent appetite for A grade properties in significant regional markets such as Newcastle, Northern Coastal NSW and South-East Qld has never been as strong. In terms of volume, HTL Property’s regional centre sales in the past 6 months have numerically matched those of the sales in metro markets on the Australian East Coast” commented Dragicevich.

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HTL National Pubs Director, Dan Dragicevich

HTL Property, formed in mid-2018 has now sold in excess of 24 significant freehold hotels in 30 weeks, and the data from which includes evidence of the pattern formed regarding buyer profile and origination.

“2018 again highlighted a mix of established groups buying strategic properties, in addition to well capitalized new entrants vying for market share. Indicatively, 2019 will likely reflect a similar two thirds existing players, versus one third new entrants type acquisition outcome mix” advises Jolliffe.

With greater than 70% market share this Financial Year, HTL Property anticipates continued strength and a very active calendar year ahead.

“HTL Property has this month been engaged to bring to market two significant Sydney freehold hotels, and one Newcastle region hotel of material scale. In addition, our Qld team is preparing a portfolio sale campaign, which will see an opportunity for strategic scale to be enjoyed by one of a number of aggregators circling the attractive investment opportunities reflected by strong revenue growth in the region” advised Dragicevich.

Following the Hayne banking review delivered this week, HTL Property believes the hotels and hospitality asset class to be well positioned in terms of its working relationship with key debt providers.

“An important function of our role is to understand the position of lenders in the deal equation, and consequently we spend a lot of time with senior banking executives working with them in mutual consultation to ensure we are collectively providing considered advice to our respective client bases. Our contemporary discussions in this regard indicate a sustained and very deliberate appetite for growth by the senior lending institutions for this sector” concluded Jolliffe.

HTL Property agents would not be drawn on the price paid for the individual assets.

Click here to view HTL Property on The Hotel Page.

See other articles relating to HTL Property:

Newcastle pub portfolio sold to Iris Capital for $30m

Salisbury Hotel Sold by Andrew Jolliffe and Dan Dragicevich HTL Property

The Bells Hotel Sydney Woolloomooloo sold to Arthur Laundy prior to Auction this week

Redcape buys largest pub portfolio south of Sydney

Another famous Sydney Eastern Suburbs pub 'Bellevue Hotel' sold by HTL Property