Manningham Hotel set to close as Endeavour lists $20m-plus Bulleen site
With its bold Roman-inspired design, Bulleen’s Manningham Hotel & Club is on the market with price expectations above $20 million, with owner Endeavour Group – the company behind Dan Murphy’s, BWS and hotel operator ALH – planning to close the pub at settlement.
Sitting 13 kilometres north-east of the Melbourne CBD, the 2.784-hectare site at 1-11 Thompsons Road currently accommodates the hotel, a Dan Murphy’s store, and a smaller Endeavour Group operations building used as a training centre.
The venue has bistro-style dining, a sports bar and a beer garden, and the main club features a cascading waterfall and grand foyer.
It opened as the Sentimental Bloke Hotel in September 1969 and hosted bands like INXS, Cold Chisel and Skyhooks, according to a history printed on a former menu.
Knight Frank’s Tom Ryan says Endeavour intends to stop operating the Manningham Hotel & Club at settlement, with the freehold offered with vacant possession and potential for redevelopment or conversion, subject to planning approval.
“It is the freehold interest; we’re not selling any of the operating parts of the business,” says Ryan, partner and head of investment sales, Victoria.
The sale excludes liquor and gaming licences, with the timing of settlement open to negotiation.
Redevelopment options emerge
Knight Frank’s Ryan, Paul Lillis and Nick Bisset are handling the expressions-of-interest campaign, with Charter Keck Cramer as transaction adviser.
The site has dual road access, three buildings with more than 6100 square metres of gross floor area, and more than 300 parking spaces, with residential growth zoning.
It is seen as one of Melbourne’s most significant infill landholding opportunities, and Ryan says buyers are considering both redevelopment and adapting the existing buildings.
“We’ve had a mixture of interest already, from full residential development – so, knocking it down – and converting the existing structures,” Ryan says.
Education buyers circle
The hotel site could offer scope for an education buyer to expand in a precinct affected by North East Link land acquisitions and construction.
The North East Link environmental assessment identified permanent acquisition of small areas of the three schools’ land, alongside temporary occupation of sports fields, access roads and parking during construction, resulting in compensation payouts from the state government.
The expansive site sits beside Marcellin College, opposite Carey Baptist Grammar’s sports complex and near Trinity Grammar’s playing fields and the Veneto Club.
“We’ve got a few education groups looking at it, [plus] aged care, funeral homes,” Ryan says.
Asked about neighbouring Marcellin’s interest in expanding, he says: “They’ve looked at it, but I don’t know what their interest is.”
Function-centre groups considering weddings and storage operators have also enquired.
The listing identifies potential for healthcare, senior living, sports and recreation, worship, commercial and retail uses, subject to planning approval.
Ryan says a negotiated leaseback of Dan Murphy’s or the smaller operations building could provide holding income while a buyer seeks development approvals.
“Or alternatively, they could do a longer settlement while they work through approvals,” he says.
Infrastructure adds appeal
In terms of transport, the site sits opposite Bulleen Park & Ride and fronts the future North East Link infrastructure corridor at the Eastern Freeway interchange.
The road upgrades and Eastern Busway are scheduled to open in 2028, improving connections to the northern suburbs, airport and city.
On early enquiries, Ryan says: “It’s getting plenty of inquiries, which is good. So it’s keeping us very busy at the moment.”
The Manningham forms part of the ALH hotel portfolio, which was combined with Woolworths’ drinks business to create Endeavour Group in 2020.
Endeavour became an independently listed company following its demerger from Woolworths in June 2021.
