The Turnbull family’s Investment Management Group has taken the deeds for the McElhone family’s idyllic Cabarita Beach Hotel in northern New South Wales.
Positioned literally metres from what has more than once been voted Australia’s #1 beach, the Cabarita Beach is one of only a handful of beachfront pubs in the country, and the only hotel licence in the precinct.
It resides on 2,500sqm of strata freehold within upmarket resort ‘The Beach’. It provides a main bar boasting panoramic views from the deck looking over parklands and ocean, a bistro, gaming room with 15 GMEs, on-title parking and a separate bottleshop.
John McElhone has owned pubs up and down the east coast, including some he built himself. He purchased the Beach out of receivership in the early ‘teens, and looking to retire, listed it reporting annual revenue of around $6.5 million.
“This pub has been great for me and my family, personally and of course financially, but we aren’t getting any younger so regretfully it’s time to sell it,” he explained.
Stepping in to big shoes is Andrew Turnbull’s Investment Management Group (IMG), adding to a large portfolio primarily in the NSW central west.
His daughter, Emma, moved to the region three years ago and will be the new licensee and face of the business, adding a dynamic local perspective.
“We recognise the incredible business that John and his family have built, and their longstanding commitment to this Cabarita landmark,” she says.
“We’re excited to contribute to Cabarita’s rich hospitality landscape by building on the venue’s established foundation.”
Situated between Byron Bay and Tweed Heads, on NSW’s north coast, Cabarita Beach has become home to a lot of ‘sea-changers’, particularly since the pandemic, and local scuttlebutt suggests it fetched close to its anticipated sale price, approaching $20 million.
The sale was conducted through HTL Property’s Glenn Price and Blake Edwards, who say they are “genuinely excited” for the McElhone family and life post-pub.
“At the same time we wish Andrew, Emma and the other IMG shareholders all the very best of luck with their iconic new asset,” furthered Price.
