Ending a hotly-contested campaign conducted entirely during COVID closure, the Stanfords have achieved a national record sale for 2021 of circa $70 million for their monolithic Vineyard Hotel.
The extremely large-format Vineyard is a mixed-use hospitality operation on 76,900sqm on a corner of Windsor Road, in northern Sydney.
It provides a traditional sports bar, with TAB, Keno and big TVs, a relaxing Lounge Bar, indoor/outdoor Bonanza Lounge with 30 EGMs, bistro, children’s play areas, beer garden, function facilities, bottleshop, and motel accommodation with 57 rooms.
Sales literature cited revenue around $245k per week, although its footprint and local catchment offers potential for far greater. The lot also holds an approved D.A. for a further 84 motel rooms, to be built on currently superfluous land.
The sale process resulted in 10 offers to purchase, including numerous bids in excess of the $60 million market guidance, and a result within 24 hours of the campaign close, on 7 October.
The identity of the buyer was not disclosed, but sources close to the deal say around $70 million was fronted for the massive property, which adds to the multiple large-format hotels he already owns throughout Sydney and elsewhere.
“We’re delighted for the purchaser, having secured for themselves a truly unparalleled hospitality platform,” offered HTL Property’s Dan Dragicevich, who managed the sale process with colleagues Andrew Jolliffe and Sam Handy.
“And we’re most pleased for our client, the Stanford family, who have owned and operated this iconic hotel asset for over 40 years.”
The Stanford stable also counts the Riverstone Hotel, and the similarly enormous Carousel Inn Hotel, on 17,000sqm at Rooty Hill, which is said to also be soon hitting the market.
“It is comforting to our family to know the property will continue to play a central role in servicing the area and its close knit albeit rapidly expanding community,” said Glen Stanford.
Despite widespread pandemic closures and broader economic turmoil, the national market remains highly buoyant for hotels, with significant divestments taking place even throughout the shutdown – as illustrated in the success of the sale of the Vineyard.
“We remain convinced of the strength and depth of buyer interest,” adds Jolliffe.
