Justin Hemmes’ Merivale has won the race to White & Partners’ big-performing Allawah Hotel for around $34 million.
The two-storey Victorian Allawah Hotel strikes a commanding pose on 1,290sqm opposite the train station on Railway Parade through Allawah. It is the only pub in the suburb, around 20 kilometres from the Sydney CBD.
Showing annual revenue north of $9 million across multiple departments, it is a consistent Top150 gaming performer, and licensed until 3am. The gaming operation counts 30 machines, 24 of which are in smoking solution, and a DA has been secured to upgrade the gaming room and relocate it to the current site of the bottleshop.
It was acquired in 2007 by JDA Hotels, but two years ago Feros sold down his share to White & Partners for around $28 million.
Recognising the pub is ready for significant capex investment, White & Partners considered its capital investment cycles and put the asset to market in August through HTL Property principles Andrew Jolliffe and Dan Dragicevich.
Merivale and Hemmes’ were unable to provide statement due to a confidentiality agreement in the contract, and HTL remained tight-lipped on the details. The deal is believed to have been struck on Friday, and Merivale is expected to take the keys in November.
The Allawah represents Merivale’s second strong gaming pub acquisition, after its $37 million purchase of the Top100-ranked Tennyson in 2016, and will be the sixth pub freehold purchased through HTL.
Sales records show Q3 of 2019 was another strong quarter, up ten freehold sales and 37.2pc on dollar figures compared with the same period last year.
“The national hotel market is currently the beneficiary of a prosperous transaction landscape,” offers Jolliffe.
