JLL Hotels & Hospitality Group is pleased to announce yet another discreet, off-market sale – this time it’s the Duke of Wellington Hotel in New Lambton (Newcastle), selling for $16m, exclusively facilitated by Senior Vice President, Ben McDonald.

‘The Duke’, as it’s known, is a prominent suburban hotel located approximately 15 minutes to Newcastle CBD and just under two hours north of Sydney with its accessibility and impressive mix of trade underpinning the broad appeal of the asset.

The sale comes at a time when capital flows continue their run into the pub space and is the latest divestment for well-known NSW hotelier, Stephen Hunt of Hunt Hospitality.

Mr Hunt had this to offer, “Selling the Duke wasn’t an easy decision as it is such a strong community-based asset with a great mix of trade. This is the third time in the last 6 years our fund has divested an asset for well over 50% more than the original purchase. I wish the new owners well and know that ongoing, this will be a great pub for them“.

Offering an 885sqm footprint, 24 gaming machines, sports bar and TAB, significant internal beer garden and 7 first floor accommodation rooms, The Duke is a ‘bulletproof’ hotel asset set to capitalise on Newcastle’s undeniable growth narrative.

The off-market deal was brokered exclusively by JLL Hotels Senior Vice President Ben McDonald who highlighted the increasing weight of capital seeking exposure to the resilient asset class.

Mr McDonald noted; “The sale of The Duke is another example of increasing buyer depth in the marketplace as this is the first acquisition for the purchaser – a newly formed hotel group based in Sydney. Assets underpinned by strong trading fundamentals in key geographical markets continue to attract the interest and capital of a wide-ranging buyer pool and we anticipate such interest continuing to intensify as hotel opportunities are aggressively pursued.”

The purchaser of ‘The Duke’ has been identified as the newly formed Reklaw Hotels, which is headed up by Sydney-based hotelier Nick Walker. Formally of Lesday Hotels, Mr Walker’s acquisition of ‘The Duke’ is the first for the group and a cornerstone asset on which to build a portfolio of assets in the future.

The sale of adds weight to JLL’s impressive run of recent hotel sales totaling in excess of $250m this financial year to date and comes hot on the heels of the team’s recent iconic listing – the Shaws Bay Hotel in East Ballina, on the market for the first time in 30 years.

To request a sales analysis please contact the selling agent Ben McDonald of JLL Hotels via the below contact details.