Award Winning Qld Pub Portfolio Sold by HTL Property

HTL Property, Australia’s leading Hospitality Tourism and Leisure centric agency, enjoys the pleasure of announcing the sale of Queensland’s exclusive Maeva Hospitality Hotel Group (Sunshine Coast); to acquisition charged Redcape Hotel Group, on behalf of two of Queensland’s most respected hotel industry veterans in what is another record-breaking deal for the sector.

The Maeva Hospitality Hotel Group, owned and operated by the highly regarded Scott Armstrong and Richard Deery; operates 4 large format hotel assets and 9 Bottle Shops all situated across the coveted and fast expanding Sunshine Coast Region of Queensland. Renowned as some of the best hotels within the state, the off-market transaction delivers significant strategic, geographical and financial representation and scale for Redcape.

All four assets were developed as greenfield sites by Maeva, incorporating their own distinctive style in order to best service the needs of the local Sunshine Coast communities. Prosperously located within coveted shopping centre precincts, the combined assets offer a WALE in excess of 45 years and enjoy a combined annual turnover north of $63 million.

The portfolio acquisition by Redcape includes Bli Bli Hotel, Baringa Tavern, Parklands Tavern & Brightwater Hotel.

“I would like to warmly congratulate Chris Unger and his team at Redcape on the acquisition of our portfolio” commented Maeva Hospitality Founder, Scott Armstrong.

“Our assets are some of the most recognised pubs on the Sunshine Coast and we would like to think arguably the best presented. We are grateful to have received multiple accolades over the years for each of our venues, and Richard and I hope to have left a legacy for the local communities with the venues we have collectively created; and which we feel confident Redcape will continue to grow into the future” Armstrong added.

Redcape has continued its focussed investment strategy; and following prosecution of this latest transaction, have now purchased ten (10) South East Queensland pub assets for a combined $220m – including the Commercial Hotel (Redbank Plains), The Flagstone Tavern (Flagstone), The Lucky Tree Tavern (Durack) and The Willow Hotel (Moorooka); all sold by HTL Property.

“The Maeva portfolio will complement and fit nicely into our existing portfolio of high performing pubs and continues our diversification and income growth strategy. On the back of continued strong trading and execution of our acquisition strategies, Redcape has once again upgraded our distribution to investors and this transaction will strengthen that further. We are excited to welcome these outstanding venues and teams into our fold and thank and congratulate Scott and Richard” advised Redcape Managing Director, Chris Unger.

The transaction was exclusively managed by HTL Property Directors Glenn Price, Andrew Jolliffe & Daniel Dragicevich; who have together sold 8 of the 10 QLD pubs recently acquired by Redcape Hotel Group.

“In 2024 Redcape set out on a deliberate path to scale up their stronghold of pubs in South-East Queensland. Identifying multiple opportunities for this strategy, we (HTL) have worked closely with our valued clients (Maeva Hospitality Hotel Group) providing them with a timely divestment strategy, capitalising upon favourable market forces. The Maeva Hospitality Group pub portfolio, astutely developed and curated by industry stalwarts Scott and Richard, is at least on par with any collection of Hotel venues across the country. Each asset exhibits not only the intrinsic fundamentals vital to a sustainably successful operation, but are also individually and strategically located within major residential growth precincts, adjacent retail centres and with almost exclusive catchments enabling them to enjoy success well into the future” advised HTL Property Director, Glenn Price.

“The Maeva Hospitality Hotel Group portfolio transaction headlines a resurgence of activity across the national pub leasehold market, as operators gravitate to the often-times higher returns available at more palatable entry prices; as opposed to a traditional freehold acquisition. This has been evident not just in SE Qld, with the Flagstone Tavern sale another example, but also in NSW with large scale acquisitions by the Feros Group and O’Hara Hotels in Shellharbour and Blacktown respectively” added HTL Property National Director, Dan Dragicevich.

“The marked resurgence, by measure of investor interest and consequent transaction volumes in Qld is of no great surprise to us, and we look favourably forward to making further market disclosures regarding more sale activity in due course” concluded HTL Property Managing Director, Andrew Jolliffe.

Maeva Hospitality Hotel Group Portfolio – Short form overview

The Bli Bli Hotel is located within the newly constructed Bli Bli Village Centre, with the Hotel occupying an impressive 2,350sqm over three levels of the five-storey building: including a drive-through bottle shop on the ground level. The Hotel was awarded Best Hotel (Metropolitan) and Best Bistro at the 2024 QHA Awards.

The Baringa Tavern is located in the Baringa Town Centre within the Master Planned Stockland Aura Development. Baringa is the first suburb to be built within the future city of Aura; and comprises 2,400 hectares on the interface of Caloundra on the Sunshine Coast. The family friendly tavern opened in 2019 and is spread across a 1,300sqm footprint. A number of both indoor and outdoor areas provide flexible options for patrons. 2 bars, a large bistro area, gaming lounge with 28 gaming machines, sports bar complete with a massive video wall (a staple attraction within the Maeva Hospitality Portfolio).

The Brightwater Hotel is widely regarded as one of the top pubs on the Sunshine Coast; the Brightwater first opened in November 2013. The hotel provides a relaxed, flexible and family-friendly social hub, comprising three bars, a bistro, two dining rooms, “The Lakehouse”, a 250-person function facility and a gaming lounge with 30 of the latest gaming machines. The Sports Bar features 17 taps, a massive video wall and full surround sound, offering the latest TAB facilities with TAB’s exclusive Venue Mode also available onsite. The Brightwater was awarded Best New Hotel & Best Bistro at the 2014 QHA Awards.

Parklands Tavern was established as a garden oasis – a relaxed and inviting environment that reflects typical Australian hospitality and ease. This family-orientated pub is equipped with three function areas, an indoor and outdoor sports bar, a large kitchen, gaming lounge, high impact sports bar, kid’s lounge & vast outdoor entertaining areas. The Yard Bar offers a true Australian backyard experience, and it provides a real point of difference to other pubs providing a great place to catch up with family and friends.

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