Cremorne: Building that’s home to Harlow Bar hits the market

Sarah Petty

First published 26 February 2024, 9:00am

The corner block building at 447 Church Street, Cremorne is up for sale.

A building that’s home to one of Australia’s top hotel operators in the heart of Cremorne has hit the market with a $9.5m price guide.

Currently occupied by the popular pub Harlow, owned by Australian Venue Co (AVC), the freehold building at 447 Church St has a ground floor bar and dining space, expansive split-level beer garden, rooftop bar and basement bar.

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AVC has a 25-year lease that runs until 2039, with two options of 10 years each.

At the moment, it returns $516,785 a year with 3 per cent annual increases.

Once home to The Great Britain Hotel, Fitzroys consultant Paul Burns said the building had been around and licensed since the 1850s, but had been significantly upgraded since.

“Showing huge confidence in the booming location, AVC recently undertook a $3.7m renovation of the property,” Mr Burns said.

Harlow Bar operates on multiple levels, including the rooftop.

“It’s a very, very profitable business and so much of this offering is about the tenant who is not going anywhere anytime soon.”

He added that they were expecting to attract broad interest, especially pub investors.

“We’re kicking off a new year and different properties are being affected in different ways; some sectors have lost a little bit of their appeal (like) offices,” he said.

“Australia’s hotels market has shown incredible resilience in the past few years.

“Ultimately, this is good real estate in a booming location.”

Inside the bar on a lower floor.

The property sits on a 1100sq m corner block of Church St with major companies like Carsales, Seek, Disney, Tesla, MYOB, Uber and Mattel in its vicinity as well as East Richmond Train Station directly across the road.

AVC owns 210 venues in Australia and New Zealand including The Esplanade Hotel in St Kilda.