Pub goes up for sale, complete with Georgie the cockatoo

Petersham local the White Cockatoo pub – complete with Georgie the cockatoo – is for sale, as pub veteran Ray Reilly looks to tweak his portfolio.

Having bought the large-scale, 700-square-metre site in the inner west at 30 Terminus Street in 2016 for about $6.5 million, the 30-year pub owner has injected more than $3 million into the operations and the building, reinvigorating the expansive bistro, public bar areas and the rear courtyard beer garden.

Aside from Georgie, there is also a friendly cat that pops in for a visit.

Reilly will now focus on his other pubs, which include the Friend in Hand, the Henson and the London in Balmain.

With 19 accommodation rooms spread across the upper levels, and eight poker machines on the licence, which are currently leased out, the incoming operator is poised to reap $400,000 in passive income.

The sale comes as the pub sector is enjoying a busy run with a number of recent deals completed, including the Rose, Shamrock & Thistle in Paddington and the Town Hall Hotel in Balmain.

HTL Property agents Dan Dragicevich, Sam Handy and Blake Edwards are advising on the White Cockatoo sale.

Woolloomooloo deal

Property developer Michael Williams is testing the market with the sale of his W Property’s 120 Bourke Street site for about $18 million.

The property spans 1508 square metres of lettable area across a landholding of 844.5 square metres, with parking for seven vehicles. It was developed by W Property and designed by Tonkin Zulaikha Greer Architects.

It is home to 19 tenancies across office, showroom and hospitality areas, generating a diversified income stream. With a mixed-use zoning, it offers flexibility for repositioning, partial owner-occupation or further leasing opportunities.

Williams said the aim was to create a building that would stand the test of time, “both in design and functionality”.

Cushman & Wakefield’s Miron Solomons and Matt Pontey are the agents for the sale.

Knock-down sale

Demand for older-style “knock-down” apartment blocks is rising, with developers looking at spending the cash to get a foothold into tightly held markets.

One of the latest is a waterfront property at 72 St Georges Crescent, Drummoyne. The 6859-square-metre landholding comes with 56.7 metres of prime frontage, and the zoning will allow for up to six storeys of premium apartments.

It is being sold by a collection of former tenants in the existing block of apartments. No price guide was disclosed. St Georges Crescent is a tightly held area.

It has an easy walk to Drummoyne Wharf for the ferry, Drummoyne Sailing Club and Birkenhead Point shopping centre, and comes with its own boat ramp, plus development approval for a private jetty/wharf.

Steven Kruyer, specialist development site agent at Stanton Hillier Parker, together with Guy Yarden and Michael Stokes, is advising on the sale.

Over the bridge in the leafy Mosman enclave, 194 Spit Road is a 1928-built block being offered for the first time in 32 years.

Comprising four oversized three-bedroom apartments, each with parking and the potential to add more, the property is 500 metres from Balmoral Beach and comes with a price tag of about $5 million.

Another Mosman property, at 161-165 Middle Head Road, recently sold for $20 million. Colliers’ Paul Grasso and Tom Appleby are the agents on the sale.

Pitt Street

Private developer Anson is selling its 430 Pitt Street hotel site with price expectations of about $100 million. It was bought in 2020 just before the COVID-19 pandemic for about $91 million.

The project will deliver 318 premium guest rooms, with retail, dining and wellness offerings. With early works completed and development approvals in place, 430 Pitt Street offers an accelerated delivery timeline and reduced development risk.

It is surrounded by major infrastructure upgrades including the Central Precinct Renewal Program, the revitalised George Street spine and the light rail corridor.

The hotel will be managed by leading international operator IHG Hotels & Resorts under the Voco brand.

According to Colliers, with just 1397 rooms under construction, Sydney’s hotel pipeline is exceptionally constrained, representing only a 5.3 per cent uplift on the current 26,523-room base through to 2028.

The approved site is being marketed by the Colliers hotels team, led by Karen Wales, Sam Abel and Steam Leung.

carolynannecummins@gmail.com

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