Ray White Hotels Australia's Asia Pacific Director Andrew Jolliffe and colleague Joel Fisher, on behalf of client Lantern Hotels (ASX:LTN), today announced the successful sale of the 670sqm Dolphin Hotel prominently situated on Crown St, Surry Hills.
The sale of the three level hotel in active Surry Hills follows recent sales in Sydney's East by Jolliffe and Fisher including The Woollahra Hotel and both Paddington's Royal and Four in Hand hotels.
"The adopted and various sale strategies for The Woollahra, The Royal and The Four in Hand, were all discreet, off market transactions; as was the preference of our respective clients at the time" advised Jolliffe.
"In the case of the Dolphin Hotel, our client required us to facilitate a very public; specifically wide reaching campaign, and the depth and quality of the 65 genuine enquiries received throughout the sale process is testament to both the compelling opportunity the acquisition patently presents, as well as the effectiveness of a national electronic and print media campaign in terms of garnering interest" advised Jolliffe.
Lantern Hotels CEO John Osborne confirmed that the sale of the Dolphin Hotel was in line with the group's previously publicized strategy following an internal positioning review earlier in 2015. "The Lantern Board and Management have taken the view that the repositioning of the company is a necessary step to unlocking shareholder value. Accordingly, the divestment of the Dolphin Hotel is both an important and positive step in order to focus the company's core competencies and resources into the areas which will provide the greatest outcome for shareholders" said Mr Osborne.
Whilst not willing to disclose the identity of the purchaser, exclusive agent for the sale Andrew Jolliffe did provide some guidance as to the profile of the successful party. "Our purchaser is illustrative of the changing complexion of investors in the hospitality sector, in that he has enjoyed considerable success in an alternative but not entirely unrelated industry; and now applies this invaluable retail and marketing experience base to a sector which, fundamentally, is all about retail and marketing" advised Mr Jolliffe.
"The purchaser of the Dolphin Hotel owns other hugely successful hospitality properties in Surry Hills and the broader Eastern Suburbs, and will undoubtedly draw on this knowledge bank to provide the Dolphin with a narrative that will see it participate prominently in the changing face of the Surry Hills and Moore Park precincts over the coming years" Mr Jolliffe believes.
In a year which has also seen Jolliffe sell, The Newport Arms, The Light Brigade, Mosman's iconic Buena Vista and The Woolwich Pier Hotel, he believes 2016 is headed in a not dissimilar direction. "The fundamentals remain so positive. Legislative headwinds are comparatively benign, consumer sentiment is high, debt both cheap and liquid, and the depressed Australian dollar is stimulating inbound visitation rates for our capital cities and tourism precincts across the country. When all distilled, there's little surprise we have a weight of equity and management ability chasing what, in reality, is a disproportionately small number of A grade investment properties" concluded Jolliffe.
