Consolidating a footprint in Darlinghurst, Sam Arnaout’s Iris Group has secured the freehold going concern of the quirky Gaslight Hotel – immediately behind the recently acquired Colombian.
The four-level Gaslight fronts Crown Street on the corner of Little Oxford St, sharing its northern wall with the popular Colombian Hotel on the corner of Crown and Oxford, which Iris bought less than three months ago for $18 million.
A modest off-Oxford pub with multiple bars and a tradition of live music, the Gaslight offers operational upside in all departments – even before the options that might be unlocked by consolidating the side-by-side properties in some form.
Iris has a strong history of creating its own fortune through strategic acquisition. Its purchase of Kings Cross legend The Bourbon began the buying of a string of freeholds that included the Empire Hotel, and now counts around five in a row.
Plans for the Kings Cross block, possessing two prized liquor licences in the rapidly gentrifying area, are yet to be announced.
In June last year Iris sold the Mercure Tower in Kings Cross for $170 million to China’s largest developer, Greenland Group, having already secured a DA to transform the aging building into a modern apartment complex.
The Gaslight was sold off-market through Ray White Hotels’ director Andrew Jolliffe and Manenti Quinlan principal Gerry Quinlan, who were unable to comment on the sale.
The Colombian Hotel sold for $18 million, but the price achieved for the Gaslight was not revealed.
