This was published 3 months ago
Billionaire Bruce Gordon offloads pub for $9.5m after 40 years of ownership
Bermuda-based media veteran and billionaire Bruce Gordon has sold the Scarborough Hotel that he has owned for 40 years to expanding hotelier Glenn Piper for $9.5 million.
Sprawled across 3900 square metres, the pub has long held a prominent site on the Illawarra escarpment. Sitting south of the Sea Cliff Bridge, the Scarborough boasts ocean views, a cliff-top beer garden and nearly 140 years of history as the oldest licensed premises in the City of Wollongong.
Contracts were exchanged on the deal in June, with a nine-month settlement period.
Under his newly created business Epochal Hotels, Piper will restore the heritage-listed building to one that “befits its spectacular location, reflects the pub’s stature and resonates deeply with the community”.
It will be added to his portfolio, which includes Freshwater’s Harbord Hotel on Sydney’s Northern Beaches, the Merewether Beach Hotel at Newcastle and the Commodore Hotel at McMahons Point. The group is also transforming the Q Station on the headland near Manly, along with the Whitsundays’ Hook Island, which is set to become an eco-lodge.
“Our mission is simple: to uncover unique local institutions and the collective memories buried within communities. As a team, we’re fuelled by the desire to build on or revive local pride in places we genuinely believe are incomparable,” Piper said in a statement.
Piper added that the purchase is a “deeply meaningful project for us”.
As per previous venues, Piper has partnered with a small syndicate of investors on the purchase, including several local to the south coast. Further details will be announced in due course.
Last week, Gordon’s WIN Corporation sold the WIN Grand development site in Wollongong to premium development company Level 33 for a record $70 million.
Gordon owns the WIN Television network and is also the largest shareholder of the Nine Entertainment Co, which owns this masthead, through his investment vehicle Birketu.
WIN Corporation chief executive Andrew Lancaster said the Scarborough Hotel had been a strong asset for the company but, WIN’s focus was growing and maintaining the organisation’s media and investment businesses.
“Pubs are not part of our core business, and it is time for a new owner to guide this iconic site into the future,” Lancaster said.
“We are happy to have sold the Scarborough Hotel to Epochal Hotels as we are passing it into safe hands with a proven track record. Epochal Hotels has a strong understanding of pubs and hospitality, and we look forward to seeing what fresh ideas they bring to the hotel.”
Simon Kersten from Colliers Wollongong advised WIN on the deal.
Meanwhile, Savills Australia and New Zealand has bolstered its presence in the hotel sector with the appointment of ex-Wallaby Drew Mitchell.
Mitchell won 71 caps for the Wallabies and is Australia’s leading try scorer in World Cup history. The 40-year-old played in the Super Rugby competition for the Queensland Reds, Western Force and New South Wales Waratahs and also had a stint with RC Toulon in France.
Nick Lower, national director of hotels at Savills said pubs in NSW have witnessed a recent increase in activity for both sale process and transactions during the first quarter of the year, which is anticipated to continue to increase as the year unfolds.
“Interest rates appear to have stabilised, no doubt providing some comfort to vendors, along with economist predictions that any next interest rate move will likely be downward,” Lower said.
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