Famed Minskys late night watering hole on the market for $35m+
For the first time in two decades, Minskys pub, one of Sydney’s famed late night drinking holes, where everyone gathered around the piano to sing with John Watson, is being put up for sale with a price guidance of around $35 million.
Given the lack of pubs along what is termed the Lower North Shore, Minskys was the place to gather and party on into the early hours.
Under the deal, Redcape Hotel group is selling the freehold of the pub, retail suites and first floor commercial office suites, formerly known as the Metropole and now the Cremorne Plaza, and covers 3344 square metres on Military Road.
Redcape chief executive Dan Brady called Minskys a “meeting place” but said with the high demand for pubs, it was time to sell to a buyer that can take the asset into its next phase.
Redcape listed on the ASX in 2018, but was taken off the public register by a vote from shareholders in September 2021. It is managed by MA Financial, previously Moelis Australia.
“The opportunity for an incoming operator/investor to further optimise a large licence footprint and have a more proactive entertainment lead business plan would see tremendous value add that given our scale we could not realise.”
Advisor to the sale, JLL hotels & hospitality group managing director John Musca, said the pub was underpinned by its gaming machines that have an estimated market value of nearly $13 million.
In addition, the rents generated by the adjoining shops and office space are up to $6,000 per square metres, which can unlock a further $10 million in value across the underlying real estate.
“This is a historically profitable hotel business with significant brand equity that is effectively trading on a third of its approved trading footprint,” Mr Musca said.
He said an avalanche of recently announced hotel sales in Sydney, tightening supply and industry consolidation, along with the ability to reformat the premises to release $10 million of dormant value in the asset, underpins the $35 million price guide.
Redcape currently occupy the entire 1,700 square metre first floor, which Mr Musca said offers the opportunity to reposition the space and/or incorporate it back into the going concern hotel business.
The sale comes as the pub sector is enjoying a post-pandemic high. In the past three months, more than $200 million worth of hotels have changed hands across Sydney and regional New South Wales.
Mr Musca, who recently sold the Lynch’s Hotel in Narooma on the NSW South Coast to pub tsar Justin Hemmes, said investor appetite for the sector “appears relentless”.
Mr Brady added that consistent with other real estate classes, “we recognise the strong demand for quality hotel assets in the market”.
Other recent sales include the Lady Hampshire in Camperdown in Sydney’s inner west for $11 million to the Sydney-based operators, PUBLIC Hospitality Group, formerly the Jaga Group, which is run by former investment banker Jon Adgemis.
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