Redcape has continued the portfolio hygiene with divestment of the Vauxhall Inn at Granville to the growing Orion Hotels.
Established in 1852 on a corner of Parramatta Road, the two-storey heritage-listed hotel was rebuilt in the 1930s in the distinctive Art Deco style. It counts a public bar area, bistro, accommodation, parking, and modern gaming room with 30 machines.
Redcape purchased the suburban local early 2018 for circa $40 million from Bondi Asset Management (BAM), fronted by Sydney hotelier Andrew Lazarus and former Citibank director Stuart King, who had paid $28 million at the start of 2016.
It was ranked in the Liquor & Gaming Top50 in 2018, but in the years since has slipped to #126 in the latest tally, from June 2024.
The group has been undergoing a reshuffle, in April selling the Crescent in Fairfield to Patrick Gallagher while buying the lease on his Criterion Hotel in the Sydney CBD. In July it shed three more, seeing the Kings Head Tavern to Melbourne-based Francis Venues as well as the Australian Hotel in Rouse Hill and Eastwood Hotel to Nelson Meers’ Sonnel.
“For Redcape, this transaction continues the successful execution of our capital management strategy and rebalancing the portfolio,” offered Redcape MD Chris Unger.
Wielding plans to enhance the Hotel through “strategic repositioning and refurbishment” Sydney-based Orion Hotel Group has paid $42 million for the Vauxhall. The group already holds the Earlwood Hotel, bought in 2022, and is headed up by Michael Wiggins, who owns the St George Hotel, Nick Savas, who has the Sir Joseph Banks Hotel, and Myles Docker, who has Chatswood’s Orchard and just purchased the Chatswood Hotel.
“We thank Redcape for a seamless and respectful transaction and look forward to the next incarnation of the Vauxhall under Orion Hotel Group ownership,” says Wiggins.
The off-market sale was conducted through JLL Hotels’ John Musca, Ben McDonald and Kate MacDonald.
“The sector-specific appeal of the NSW pub market continues to draw competitive bidding from investors around the country,” reported McDonald, who tips JLL’s market insight and knowledge of underbidder capital is pointing to a “strong end of the year for the sector”.
