Gilhooley's hotel site on the market after 45 years, and buyers can only see possibilities
A Brisbane CBD building, best known for its popular Irish pub Gilhooleys, has hit the open market for the first time and is attracting interested buyers from near and far.
Located on the corner of Albert and Charlotte streets, the three-storey property has been owned by the same family for 45 years, after originally buying it in an off-market deal.
CBRE Middle Markets director Mike Walsh said a number of proposed infrastructure projects in the city had motivated the owners to list the property for sale after more than four decades.
“They don’t have a desire or ambition to develop it themselves so it’s a logical time for them to be selling given what’s going on with the proposed Cross River Rail,” Mr Walsh said.
“This site will directly benefit from that immensely because the proposed station is going to be pretty well underneath, and Albert Street is proposed to be pedestrianised.
“It already occupies such a prime position, but as that infrastructure unfolds around it with the Cross River Rail, and Queen’s Wharf only 200 metres up the road, the possibilities with this site is what is attracting most of the interest from the market.”
The pub has been operating since 1995. Photo: Supplied
So far there had been an usually high level of interest, with about 100 inquiries after only one week on the market, Mr Walsh said.
“It’s attracting those old heads who have gone, ‘Well, hang on, something like this doesn’t crop up very often’. They don’t want to miss it,” he said.
The 911-square-metre site has also been the home of Gilhooleys since 1995 and the building has about 2300 square metres of net lettable area, according to CBRE.
The tenancies, which also include retail and fitness businesses, currently net about $600,000 in annual income, Mr Walsh said.
CBRE Capital Markets Hotels and Pubs director Paul Fraser said Gilhooleys continued to be an “incredibly successful” business after more than 23 years at the 124 Albert Street site.
It had recently renewed its lease for another four years and was not only keen to stay but also to upgrade.
“The largest tenant, which is Gilhooleys, has been an incredibly successful tenant, which is testament not only to them, but also to the asset itself that lends itself to multiple offerings, including retail, but food and beverage as well and has been well set-up for that moving forward,” Mr Fraser said.
The site is situated close to the Cross River Rail. Photo: Supplied
“I think it would be fair to say that they’d more than welcome the opportunity to chat to any incoming purchaser about increasing tenure, spending some more capital on their fit-out and taking it to the next level.”
Expressions of interest close on June 28.
