Michael Dixon has teamed with Eumundi Group to buy the Court House Hotel in Murwillumbah, in northern New South Wales.
The two-storey Court House, on an 898sqm block, offers public bar, bistro, gaming, beer garden, 16 accommodation rooms and a manager’s residence.
Its central position on Murwillumbah’s main street provides high vehicular and pedestrian traffic. The town is just 30 kilometres from Gold Coast airport, with local population of more than 9,000.
Since 2014 the Court House has been owned by Brisbane-based investors Andrew Scrivenor and Tom Bennett, who initially looked to divest late 2019, with hopes of sale price around $7 million.
It has now been purchased for $6.0 million by Eumundi Group, which already holds the freeholds of the Ashmore Tavern, Plough Inn, and Aspley Shopping centre, containing Aspley Central Tavern.
Eumundi says it is targeting blue chip assets with substantial capital growth potential, which require minimal management by Eumundi, and “solid income backed by tenants of substance and proven capability”.
The Hotel’s operation will be in the hands of Athena Hospitality Group, headed by former Dixon Hospitality stakeholder Michael Dixon, which already holds the keys at the Central Tavern in Caloundra West.
Athena starts a new triple-net lease on an initial 15 years, followed by four further 10-year options.
The sale price represents a return of 6.25 per cent.
The asset was selectively offered to just a few groups, through Savills Hotels’ Nick Lower, Selin Ince, Joseph Ganim and Leon Alaban, and the result another example of the unwavering demand for hotel investment throughout the state.
“Structuring the deal in such a way provided an excellent result to our vendor, whilst both purchasers were pleased with the return on investment they expect to receive,” offered Lower.
