Strop’s old Byron pub sells for $70m
THE Beach Hotel in Byron Bay, developed by Paul Hogan sidekick John (“Strop”) Cornell, has sold for $70 million to a Melbourne-based private equity group backed by the wealthy Liberman family.
The vendor, racing-car driver Max Twigg, vehemently denied last week that he was selling the pub in the northern NSW holiday mecca, adding: “I am a happy owner, I have been for 10 years.”
But yesterday it was confirmed the hotel, overlooking Byron’s Main Beach, had been sold under a long settlement agreement to Impact Investment Group, in a recordbreaking deal.
A decade ago Mr Twigg paid about $44 million for the Bay St hotel, built by Mr Cornell in 1990 for about $9 million.
It is understood to have been sold by CBRE Agents Wayne Bunz and Daniel Dragicevich.
“We’re looking forward to settling this transaction in six months’ time,” an Impact Investment spokesman said.
“It’s a great hotel, and we’ve already made a lot of progress planning our environmental upgrades and how we’ll work with the operator and locals to deliver real positive impacts for the Byron Bay community.”
The hotel’s licensee, Melbourne restaurateur John van Haandel, has exercised his option to continue running the site for the remainder of his long-term lease arrangement.
The town’s largest venue, the hotel hit the market in the middle of last year with price expectations of between $75 million and $80 million.
Impact Investment has more than $400 million in funds under management. Investors include individuals, families, institutional investors, corporations and foundations.
The Melbourne-based Libermans are among Australia’s richest families, with an estimated wealth of $2.5 billion in 2015.