Thriving border city Albury has seen two recent pub transactions, with sale of both the Astor Hotel and Albion Hotel.
Hugging the Murray River and NSW-Victorian border, Albury LGA boasts populace of almost 80,000 residents, counting a diverse mix of blue-collar and professionals across a wide cross-section of industries, and tourism buoyed by its location as a stopover between Melbourne and Sydney.
In May the big four-level Art Deco Albion Hotel came to market through CBRE Hotels and HTL Property, offering a main public bar, function areas, multiple kitchens, and gaming room with 13 machines.
Soon after, the Astor Hotel, a few blocks north-east, owned by a prominent Sydney hotel group, went up for off-market sale. It features a public bar, bistro, gaming with 23 machines, and 45 motel-style accommodation rooms.
While shortage of opportunities closer to the major cities is taking publicans further afield, the creeping value of gaming entitlements is prompting many regional operations to consider best use of the property and potential break-up values.
The Albion’s 13 gaming licences were sold off for almost $2 million, and CRE Brokers facilitated sale of the building, which will likely be repurposed, for circa $1.3 million.
However, the Astor, presenting a stronger operational prospect, has been snapped up in the off-market campaign through HTL for around $7 million, by an unnamed buyer.
“Regional pub prices are now as high, or higher, than those reached prior to the global financial crisis some ten years ago,” notes HTL director, Blake Edwards.
“This patent accretion of value is attributable to a combination of strong cap rates on country pubs, and the relatively low entry point when compared to metropolitan assets.”
