The Mackay Grande Suites in north Queensland has been sold via an Expressions of Interest campaign.
The sale was brokered by CBRE Hotels’ agents Wayne Bunz and Paul Fraser on behalf of Ernst & Young, under instruction from Samuel Freeman and Justin Walsh, as Voluntary Administrators.
The Mackay Grande Suites is a premier, CBD asset with frontages to Gregory and Wood streets. Located on a 2,148sqm site, the offering comprises a 4.5-star full service apartment hotel with 91 rooms and associated facilities (swimming pool, conferencing, gymnasium), Cactus Jack’s restaurant and the AM Bar & Bistro with 45 high performing gaming machines.
CBRE Hotels National Director Wayne Bunz commented: “There has been a renewed focus on the resource sector and this sale is evidence of the return in confidence”.
“Given the property’s multiple income streams, the asset attracted interest from a broad range of investors including publicans, hotel owner-operators and major brands.”
Mr Fraser said the sale highlighted growing investment interest in the state’s regional hotel market.
“While regional resource-centric areas in Queensland had been impacted by the economic downturn, the Mackay region had recently been the subject of renewed investor interest to gain a foothold in a recovering market. Astute investors saw this as a strong counter cyclical opportunity with medium to long term upward trending potential.”
The hotel has been purchased by a Sydney-based hotel investment company, running under the entity ‘Sheep 10 Pty Ltd’.
Managing Director Geordie Clark commented: “We saw a tremendous opportunity with this property, to rebrand it with an international hotel operator, and we will be completely reconfiguring the ground floor bars and restaurant to ensure it becomes Mackay’s preeminent entertainment venue.”
The incoming owners have already signed a management agreement with EVT for the hotel component to be operated as a Rydges Hotel.
Normal Arundel, Director of Hotel & Resorts Operations, said: “EVENT is excited to have Rydges Mackay Suites join our collections of hotels, this hotel will allow our loyal guests who travel to Far North Queensland to have a quality hotel choice in Mackay whether they are travelling for work or pleasure.”
The sale is great news for the town, with the ground floor restaurants, including AM Bar and the new AM Restaurant (formerly Cactus Jacks), will undergo a major rejuvenation.
About CBRE Group, Inc.
CBRE Group, Inc. (NYSE:CBG), a Fortune 500 and S&P 500 company headquartered in Los Angeles, is the world’s largest commercial real estate services and investment firm (based on 2017 revenue). The company has more than 80,000 employees (excluding affiliates), and serves real estate investors and occupiers through more than 450 offices (excluding affiliates) worldwide. CBRE offers a broad range of integrated services, including facilities, transaction and project management; property management; investment management; appraisal and valuation; property leasing; strategic consulting; property sales; mortgage services and development services. Please visit our website at www.cbre.com.
