The Australian Hotel in snow country Cooma has come to market, representing the next stage in the vendor’s strategic sell-down.
The prominent full-format Aussie features public bar, bistro, gaming room with 15 machines, and 16 pub-style accommodation rooms, with the ability to trade until 2am.
Set on a generous 1,492sqm of land at the centre of the main retail and commercial precinct of Cooma, it is opposite both the Coles-anchored Centennial Plaza shopping centre and a 100-space council car park.
The site also offers future mixed-use redevelopment potential, holding B3 commercial core zoning and 15-metre height approval.
The freehold sale includes the gaming entitlements, which represent 45 per cent of the town’s machines.
Cooma counts a population of around 8,000 people and only three pubs, geographically an hour from the NSW snow fields or four hours south-west of Sydney.
While traditionally showing strong accommodation and tourism credentials, more recently the town’s macro investment fundamentals are also rising, thanks to the future infrastructure spending of Snowy 2.0 and strong blue collar and skilled employment growth.
The O’Donnell family has held a portfolio of regional pub assets, with the recent FGC sale of their Empire Hotel in Goulburn in collaboration with their tenant.
Following the successful Empire divestment they have engaged HTL Property’s Xavier Plunkett, Sam Handy and Blake Edwards to market Cooma’s Australian ahead of a public auction.
“The Hotel will be a direct beneficiary of the enormous infrastructure spend, and the subsequent increase in new employment expected in the area as a result of the Federal Government’s 10-year, $7 billion, Snowy 2.0 expansion,” suggests Plunkett.
“Increased overall patronage would be expected, and a consistent requirement for additional worker’s accommodation would also have a flow-on effect to other revenue departments.”
Timely proximate sales include the Southern Railway Hotel, also in Goulburn, and Ray Reilly’s purchase last week of the Sutton Forest Inn. Agents report ongoing “unmatched capital” seeking regional opportunities underpinned by quality land holdings and gaming.
Sale price on the Australian will likely exceed $3 million.
The freehold of the Australian Hotel will go to public auction 10.30am Thursday, 5 March at Cooley Auctions (L5, 1 Margaret Street, Sydney).
