The iconic Kingscliff Beach Hotel in the northern NSW Byron Bay region is the latest and possibly the last AAA-grade coastal gem to hit the market, with suitably high expectations.
The large-format pub occupies a prominent 3,824sqm in the commercial and retail heart of Kingscliff, adjacent to the Woolworths-anchored Kingscliff Shopping Village, including 60-metre beachside street frontage.
Overlooking the Kingscliff beachfront, it offers multiple bars, retail liquor, and extensive outdoor areas, highlighted by its oversized and popular beer garden. The gaming operation counts 29 entitlements, although only 27 machines are on the floor, yet still boasts average ranking of #310 over the past year, making it both the largest gaming machine holding and best-performing room in Tweed Shire LGA.
It also holds underutilised extended (1:30am) trading, and beyond the idle gaming assets also provides future upside through redevelopment courtesy of its B4 mixed-use zoning, with 13.6-metre height approval and 2:1 FSR.
The Kingscliff Beach reports annual revenues around $20 million, enjoying the benefit of substantial tourism trade from both north and south of the border.
Early 2020 Moelis announced its big-ticket purchase of Byron’s Beach Hotel for $103 million, on a yield of around seven per cent. The famous pub reported over $400k weekly revenue, but with no gaming and limited development potential throughout the precinct.
More recently other pubs in the region have seen sharp yield contraction, as at the Short-Laundy purchase of Lennox Head at 5.5 per cent, or Moelis’ acquisition of Byron’s Brunswick Hotel at 4.5 per cent, or the Mooney family’s sale of Byron’s Great Northern at less than four per cent.
Marketing literature cites the Kingscliff returns $6 million annual EBIT on its $400k weekly revenue.
Taking into account its land holding, reported to be one of the single largest along Marine Parade, pundits are putting sale price at up to $100 million.
It is the property of Rich Lister Tony Denny and former Rich Lister Peter Mattick, and operated under management by the Sydney-based Taphouse Group.
The pair recently sold their Port Macquarie hotels, the ‘Macca’ in late June, and the Tacking Point Tavern to a Laundy-Flower partnership in July.
Even more recently, Denny has also listed his Heathcote Hotel and Engadine Tavern in southern Sydney, owned in a syndicate also counting property developer Gavin Duffy.
Kingscliff is being touted as “the new Byron Bay”. It is around 60 kilometres north of the real estate hotspot, with a resident population of more than 8k people and “astronomical” population and price growth over the last five years.
Growth has been driven by ‘sea-changers’ flocking to master planned residential communities such as Gales Kingscliff and Kings Forest, bringing circa 20k new residents.
Additionally, the Tweed Valley Hospital Development is reportedly the largest regional capital health investment ever entirely funded by the NSW Government, bolstering Centuria Capital’s adjoining Cudgen Connection precinct, comprising a new university campus, private hospital, aged care facilities and essential worker housing.
Investors continue to be drawn to the qualities of scale, profitability and prominence in trophy pub assets, and marketing literature on the pub adds “aspirational lifestyle location” to the list of irreplaceable features, dubbing it “arguably the very last example” of its type available to be purchased.
“In terms of iconic coastal properties and genuinely once in a lifetime opportunities, the Kingscliff Beach Hotel really does enjoy national prominence and comparable association with the likes of the Beach Hotel at Byron Bay, Brunswick Heads Hotel, Manly’s Hotel Steyne and both Coogee’s Pavilion and Coogee Bay Hotels,” offered HTL Property’s Andrew Jolliffe, marketing the asset with colleague Dan Dragicevich.
The freehold going concern of the Kingscliff Beach Hotel is being sold via International Expressions of Interest, ending Wednesday, 28 September.
