09 Aug 2021
Words The Editor Western Advocate

Quality Hotel Bathurst sold, according to ResortBrokers

Less than two weeks after the sale of the Dan Murphy's building and site was made public, the acquisition of a prominent Stewart Street hotel has been announced. 

Specialist accommodation sector agency Resort Brokers says it has negotiated the sale of Quality Hotel Bathurst, on the Mitchell Highway roundabout, for $9.7 million.

It was sold to the MA Real Asset Opportunities Fund, a fund managed by a subsidiary of the MA Financial Group, according to Resort Brokers.

The hotel has a 4079 square metre corner block, has been recently refurbished and, in conjunction with the sale, has been rebranded to Accor's upmarket Mantra.

Resort Brokers says the purchase is the fourth acquisition by the MA Real Asset Opportunities Fund, joining accommodation businesses in Cairns and southern NSW.

It says the off-market deal was handled by its Central West specialist Chris Kelly.

"With international travel not possible, many Australians have been forced into shifting their travel preferences to intrastate and interstate visitation, with drive tourism becoming a major contributor to this massive shift in accommodation demand," he said.

"Places like Bathurst are an easy three hour drive from Sydney and, when it's not in lockdown, on the weekends and school holidays in particular, the no vacancy signs are up everywhere.

"It's pretty much the same story further out in towns like Orange, Mudgee, Dubbo, Forbes and Parkes.

"These are classic country towns with plenty going on for tourists who can drive to these places.

"Experienced accommodation operators and the syndicates are well aware of this and they are actively hunting for these regional assets and motels, in particular, are high on their wish list."

Resort Brokers managing director Trudy Crooks said the Lithgow-based Inzitari family bought the freehold to the Bathurst Heritage Motor Inn for $7 million through Resort Brokers recently to pick up their third regional asset.

She said the competition for investing in regional assets is being driven by a number of factors, one of which is the fact interest rates are predicted to be low for a number of years.

She said it gives investors an even more compelling reason to go on the hunt for new businesses.

"Another key issue is replacement cost," Ms Crooks said.

"The cost of building new on an existing site, or an acquired site, is prohibitively high for even the bigger operators, so these existing regional assets are becoming more and more attractive."