Sale of Quarantine Station, Manly North Head for $15m – $20m a big tourism boost
The purchase of historic Q Station by noted hotelier Glenn Piper is another strong sign of growing confidence in the NSW and Australian tourism sector.
With the country set to open up again soon to international tourists for the first time in almost two years, the buoyant sale of Q Station at North Head bodes well for the local economy.
Owner of Freshwater’s Harbord Hotel, Mr Piper will take over the leasehold of the former heritage listed Quarantine Station at Manly, subject to approval from National Parks and Wildlife Service.
Q Station at North Head, Manly.
Interest in the 30ha Sydney Harbour site and its 29-year lease was intense after it hit the market last month.
The lease was expected to fetch between $15 million and $20 million, however the price is yet to be disclosed.
“This is an incredibly special asset and I am absolutely thrilled to be given the opportunity to operate Q Station and enhance its offering,” Mr Piper said, The Daily Telegraph reported.
“When the leasehold of the Q Station was put on the market, I immediately saw it as an extremely rare opportunity to acquire the rights to operate on a site of national significance,” he said.
The complex is now a popular tourism destination.
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“My approach to hospitality is to enhance a venue’s existing heritage values to create an authentic and unique offering inspired by the stories surrounding the venue.”
For the past 15 years the lease holders, the Mawland Group, has developed Q Station on the edge of the National Park into a popular venue, with historic guest cottages, accommodation, conference rooms, restaurants and ghost tours.
Q Station now looks set to offer a diverse mix of luxury hotel accommodation where guests spend $2000 a night and arrive by water, corporate events and cafes and restaurants that attract a younger crowd.
The property was marketed by Nick Simarro and Andrew Jackson, of HTL Property, and Vasso Zographou and Tom Gibson, of CBRE Hotels.
It’s expected to provide luxury accommodation.
And appeal to a younger crowd.
It’s also a popular function venue.
The sale campaign attracted bids from Australia and overseas with 13 bids in total and over 250 inquiries.
“There’s no doubt the nature of the offering with a hospitality and tourism focus appealed to all investor types. Given the timing of the offering through NSW’s harshest lockdowns, it was incredible to see the level of confidence from the market,” Mr Jackson said.
Mr Gibson added: “The sale of Q Station is a great example of the resilience of Sydney’s hotel investment market and the continued interest in institutional grade tourism assets.”
It was originally built as a Quarantine Station to protect the NSW from those travelling to the colony with infectious diseases.
The new lease is expected to be drawn up before Christmas with the new owners to begin operating in January.
The North Head Quarantine Station was founded in the 1830s to protect NSW from those travelling to the colony with infectious diseases.
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