The Kospetas family’s Universal Hotels has joined Tom Wallace’s Millinium in capitalising on the former Public Hospitality Group, separately taking hotels in Darlinghurst, Bondi and Potts Point.
In the fallout of the failed venture, ex-KPMG dealmaker-turned-publican Jon Adgemis saw his PHG assets repossessed by a host of lenders in 2025, and he was declared bankrupt with accusations of more than a billion dollars in debt.
Claridge House is a nine-storey inner-city accommodation hotel on Flinders Street in Darlinghurst, near Taylor Square, sporting a striking Art Deco flatiron design. It was formerly configured as 63 boarding rooms, with flexible spaces at street level for retail, food & beverage or communal areas.
Offered in “cold‑shell” condition, the building suits a variety of uses and while Universal has not revealed plans, the site expands upon the family group’s prospects in the precinct.
“Claridge House presented as an excellent opportunity for our continued growth and diversification,” says Universal CEO Harris Kospetas.
“It’s an asset with enormous potential located within a precinct that we know very well.
“It’s a really good fit for us.”
Sale of Claridge House was through receivers and managers McGrathNicol. A highly competitive sale campaign was conducted by Colliers, said to have attracted strong interest from hospitality operators, institutional capital and private investors, with over 250 enquiries generating 17 offers to purchase.
The sale highlights the continued demand for well-located hospitality assets with adaptive-reuse potential.
“This was a complex asset that required a capable buyer with both operational expertise and balance sheet strength,” notes Colliers’ James Cowan.
“The result demonstrates that well-located hospitality opportunities continue to transact, even in a more selective market.”
Meanwhile, Sydney-based property investment and venture capital firm Millinium Capital Managers (MCM) have furthered their interests in the hamstrung PHG portfolio, bringing their total spend to $150 million.
MCM, led by Tom Wallace, has paid $60 million for the iconic Noah’s site on Campbell Pde, now named South Bondi Hotel.
In 2022 PHG paid $58 million for the former 260-bed backpackers hostel, and $10 million for the block of apartments next door, which were not included in the sale and remain on the market.
Adgemis and Co renamed it the South Bondi Hotel and secured council approval for an overhaul that would add a rooftop bar overlooking famous Bondi Beach. The work was not done, and today the building is scarred with graffiti.
PHG paid around $16.5 million the same year for the Diplomat Hotel in Potts Point. It has sold now to MCM for around $21 million.
These are in addition to recent news MCM bought Adgemis’ Empire Hotel in Annandale for circa $21 million, and that the company had quietly been purchaser on Public’s Town Hall in Balmain in July, followed by Paddington’s 3 Weeds, and in September the vacant, incomplete Kurrajong Hotel in Erskineville.
Sale of the South Bondi, Diplomat and Empire was through HTL Property’s Andrew Jolliffe, Sam Handy and Andrew Jackson.
“The speed at which they have all transacted speaks to the market appetite for built form, high presence hospitality opportunities in gateway precincts,” says Jolliffe
PHG’s Exchange Hotel in Balmain remains on the market.
