Young Family Decide to Sell Sydney Hotel

The Young family have been long term owners of the Concord Hotel, Palace Hotel and Wisemans Ferry Hotel and have been particularly acquisitive in recent years acquiring the Five Dock Hotel (Five Dock), Royal Hotel (Ryde) and Hotel Illinois (Five Dock) to add to the impressive portfolio. Following acquisition of the Friend in Hand Hotel in June 2019, the Young family settled on it in September of the same year and immediately executed an extensive renovation and refurbishment adding an additional four gaming machines to the floor.

“Our family has enjoyed a long association with the Friend in Hand Hotel, and whilst our second stint operating the hotel has been a little shorter than the first, we firmly believe in both the strength of the business and the catchment area” advised hotelier Billy Young.

“Following consultation with my family, we’ve concluded that the recent expansion of our portfolio means we probably can’t give it the necessary time and focus it deserves” Young concluded.

HTL Property’s Andrew Jolliffe, Dan Dragicevich and Sam Handy have been exclusively appointed to handle the sale process following the boutique firm’s recently announced sales of the Woolpack Hotel (Redfern), O’Malley’s Hotel (Woolloomooloo), Hotel Hollywood (Surry Hills) and the New Hampton Hotel (Potts Point).

The two storey hotel is prominently positioned on Cowper Street, immediately adjacent to Roxy Pacific’s West End Residences development (232 apartments) and the mooted Franklyn Estate redevelopment (425 apartments). The hotel is surrounded by numerous other large-scale private, affordable and social housing developments in various stages of approval. Separately, the Friend in Hand Hotel is situated in close proximity to the Broadway Shopping Centre; comprising anchor tenants such as Coles, ALDI, Target and Harvey Norman and hosting car parking for 1,665 vehicles.

“Very few, if any, renovated CBD hotels come to market comprising 19 gaming machine licenses, and for this reason alone we are excited about the market’s reaction to this unique Sydney opportunity” advised HTL Property National Director, Dan Dragicevich.

The Friend in Hand Hotel is operated under management, and offers an incoming operator a profitable revenue mix across bar, bistro, gaming and wagering. It features a midnight liquor licence with ‘early-opener’ trading flexibility and 19 gaming machines attached to the hotelier’s licence.

A hugely popular Glebe hotel, the business has historically ranked at an average of #546 in the 24 months prior to the trading impositions brought about by CV-19.

In addition, the hotel recently underwent an extensive renovation and refurbishment to both the ground and first floor areas; and now presents with a genuine dual trading footprint.

“The challenges of this movement restricted marketplace are patently clear to all, but so too are the opportunities to realign investment objectives with time horizons that enjoy validity beyond the currency of the situation” concluded HTL Property Managing Director, Andrew Jolliffe.

The stately Friend in Hand Hotel is being exclusively sold through leading specialist agency HTL Property, via an Expression of Interest campaign closing Thursday 16 September 2021 at 5.00pm (if not sold prior).

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