An Adina Hotel, Melbourne's oldest pub and a nine-level office building owned by the powerful Schwartz family have sold for around $92 million, signalling the heat in Australia's freehold and accommodation sector.
The Schwartz's portfolio, offered to the market after the recent death of family matriarch Margit "Baba" Schwartz aged 89 years, comprised the 167-year-old Duke of Wellington pub with an adjoining nine-level office tower at 2 Russell Street and a 65-room Adina Hotel, car park, IGA supermarket and other laneway properties at 88 Flinders Street.
The combined properties were expected to fetch above $80 million but netted significantly more, with 88 Flinders Street thought to have transacted for about $54 million and the pub and office at 2 Russell Street fetching about $38 million.
The Schwartz family and CBRE agents involved in the deal, Josh Rutman, Mark Wizel, Lewis Tong, Kiran Pillai, Rob Cross and Scott Callow, refused to confirm price details.
About 35 separate bids were received for both properties from local parties and offshore buyers from Vietnam, Malaysia, China, Dubai, Taiwan and Hong Kong, Mr Wizel said.
The sales follow a busy fortnight in which nearly $1 billion of city-centre commercial property changed hands on Australia's east coast.
Singapore fund manager TrustCapital Advisors this week finalised the sale of five major office buildings for $727.55 million.
TrustCapital offloaded three towers in Melbourne for $456.8 million, Sydney's 50 Pitt Street tower for $165 million and an office at 150 Charlotte Street in Brisbane for $105.75 million.
Around the same time, the acquisitive Singaporean Tong Eng Group paid $77 million on a sharp 4.66 per cent passing yield for the Myer family-owned Gateway office on Melbourne's premier leafy boulevard at 312 St Kilda Road.
The Duke of Wellington pub opposite Federation Square is Melbourne's oldest licensed venue. It was named after British Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley who was bestowed the title Duke of Wellington.
It was purchased by renowned developer Andor Schwartz, Margit's husband, in 2003 for just $4.525 million after which a nine-level office tower was added to the rear.
The portfolio's vendors were the Schwartz's three sons: Morry Schwartz, the founder of developer Pan Urban and publishing house Schwartz Media; developer Danny Schwartz; and Qualitas director Alan Schwartz who is married to Stockland director Carol Schwartz - the daughter or retail billionaire Marc Besen.
Schwartz Media publishes The Saturday Paper, The Monthly and Quarterly Essay.
The brothers inherited the portfolio from Andor and Margit.
"We were absolutely delighted with the final result achieved on both properties," Morry Schwartz said.
"There is clearly a window for generational property owners to consider offloading their assets whilst the market is showing some very strong signs," he said.
Buyer details have not come to light, but the pub and office purchaser is understood to be the local founder of a family-run engineering business.
The site of the TFE Hotels-operated Adani Hotel was developed by Andor in 2001.
TFE has about four years to run on its management agreement over the building.
The building has an offshoot warehouse that is the home to popular whisky bar Eau Du Vie and includes a large portion of rear land connected to Flinders Lane and Duckboard Lane.
