Byron Bay’s Beach Hotel trades for record-breaking $70m
The Beach Hotel in Byron Bay, developed by Paul Hogan sidekick John Cornell, has sold for an aggressive $70 million to a Melbourne-based private equity firm backed by the wealthy Liberman family.
The vendor, racing car driver Max Twigg, vehemently denied to The Australian last week that he was selling the pub in the iconic northern NSW township, adding: “I am a happy owner, I have been for ten years.”
But on Monday it was confirmed the hotel, overlooking Byron’s Main Beach, has sold under a long settlement agreement to Impact Investment Group, in a record-breaking deal.
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A decade ago Twigg paid about $44 million for the Bay St hotel, built by Cornell in 1990 for about $9 million.
The Beach Hotel is Byron Bay’s largest pub.
It is understood to have been sold by CBRE Agents Wayne Bunz and Daniel Dragicevich.
“We’re looking forward to settling this transaction in six months’ time,” says a spokesman for Impact Investment.
“It’s a great hotel, and we’ve already made a lot of progress planning our environmental upgrades and how we’ll work with the operator and locals to deliver real positive impacts for the Byron Bay community.”
The hotel’s licensee, Melbourne restaurateur John van Haandel, has exercised his option to continue running the popular hotel under the remainder of his long-term lease arrangements.
The hotel had initial price expectations of more than $80 million.
The hotel, Byron Bay’s largest venue, hit the market mid-last year with price expectations of between $75 million and $80 million.
Impact Investment Group has more than $400 million in funds under management. Investors include wealthy individuals, families, institutional investors, corporations and foundations.
The Melbourne-based Libermans are among Australia’s richest families, with a wealth estimated by BRW in 2015 of $2.5 billion.
This article originally appeared on www.theaustralian.com.au/property.
