HARDIMANS LISTED AS THIELE PIVOTS

Veteran Victorian Michael Thiele has listed his handsome nautical-themed Hardimans Hotel in Kensington, as he changes tack and sets a course for Carlton North.

Originally named the Clarence Hotel, the Art Deco Hardimans Hotel was built in the late 1870s by the Hardiman family, designed to resemble a boat, replete with porthole windows. Rick Richards and Jane Holmes bought it in 1998, operating it and living onsite until 2017.

Today the striking two-storey hotel has benefited from significant refurbishments, offering a large public bar and dining space flooded with natural light. Upstairs has function spaces and balcony, serviced by a private bar.

The hotel stands on a 576sqm lot with favourable Commercial 1 zoning (CZ1), in a designated residential growth area that is welcoming several completed or under construction high-density developments.

While much as been modernised, Hardimans has retained its yacht-inspired motif, and prides itself on being a craft beer pub, ranging a constantly changing tap list featuring local brews and mainstream brands.

Thiele founded the Australian themed ‘Walkabout’ pubs in the UK, with Craig Ellison. He returned Down Under in 2004 and established Open Door Pub Co (ODPC), which was sold to Dixon Hospitality – now Australian Venue Co – in 2015.

It wasn’t long before Thiele was back in the game and after something of a search he acquired Hardimans Hotel in 2017, saying at the time it was “the first one that is really the right type of place for us”.

The following year it reopened from a comprehensive makeover.

Located just four kilometres north-west of the Melbourne CBD, Kensington is a ‘burb populated by plenty of families and older generations.

As one of the only pubs in the precinct, Hardimans has been geared as a family-orientated venue, meaning the menu, beverage selection and delivery and service must all be on point.

Equipped with the right products, including a great children’s menu and comprehensive wine list, Hardimans embodies Thiele’s philosophy that a good pub “caters to the needs of its market”.

Before selling the group of 17 pubs held under ODPC Thiele had already sold the freeholds. He reports he is selling the title now because he doesn’t see the value of owning the freehold as an operator in Victoria, unless looking very long-term.

And wielding 40 years of experience, running pubs around the world, he believes Melbourne tops Australia’s pub scene, and that inner-city suburbs such as Kensington are “the best places to own a pub” in the state, enjoying residents that typically have good disposable income and likely live in smaller residences that invite going out.

To this same end he is poised to sign for the Kent Hotel, in Carlton North. There are plans to give it a “new lease of life”, led by the drawcard of quality food and beverage, which he puts in place at every pub.

Thiele observes that Victoria’s pub market has changed somewhat since the COVID pandemic, seeing people drink less but trade up. He says this means the venue’s products must be both quality and value for money.

“You’ve got to know your market … you’ve got to tailor the offering and service to that market, which is what we’ve done at Hardimans, and it’s what we’ll do at the Kent.”

The freehold of Hardimans is being marketed by JLL Hotel’s Tom Noonan, Will Connolly and Stuart Taylor, who note “minimal future CAPEX requirements foreseeable”.

It comes with a new 10-year lease, until 2035, plus four 5-year options, paying annual rent of $475K with fixed three per cent annual increases.

The property is expected to fetch north of $8.6 million.

The freehold investment of Hardimans is being sold via Expressions of Interest, closing Wednesday, 26 March.