Iconic North Coast hotel could sell for $80 million

IT WAS once owned by Paul Hogan's sidekick, John 'Strop' Cornell, now this North Coast pub is back on the market.

ON THE MARKET: The Beach Hotel, Byron Bay.

ONE of Australia's most iconic pubs - the Beach Hotel at Byron Bay - is up for sale.

Melbourne businessman Max Twigg has decided to sell the freehold of the Beach Hotel, and the move is tipped to generate significant interest from trophy hunters and national hotel investors.

It was built in 1990 by Paul Hogan's sidekick and business partner John Cornell for $9 million.

The Australian Financial Review has reported that, according to CoreLogic records, Mr Twigg paid $44 million for the pub in June 2007.

But it seems it is worth significantly more than that now.

The AFR report suggests the hotel could fetch between $75 million and $80 million.

Daniel Dragicevich of CBRE Hotels and Tony Bargwanna and Jared Hodge of Ray White Hotels have been jointly appointed to sell the landmark property.

The Beach Hotel is currently leased to Mr van Haandel until mid-2017 with a further two, 10-year lease options.

The annual income is circa $4.2 million.

"The national hotel investment market has seen a huge spike in values in the last couple of years with the continued low borrowing rate environment directly linking to capitalisation rates - especially for truly iconic properties such as the Beach Hotel, Byron Bay," Mr Dragicevich said.

"Sales of the Prince of Wales in St Kilda, Melbourne and the Golden Sheaf Hotel in Double Bay, Sydney saw competition generated across various purchaser profiles and we expect a similar market response for the irreplaceable Beach Hotel."

Known as the Top Pub to locals, the Beach Hotel is situated on a 4585sqm site in the heart of Byron Bay's commercial precinct.

It has large outdoor areas, multiple bars, bistro with alfresco dining area, beer garden, walk-in bottleshop, gaming room, 25 on-site hotel rooms, conference facilities and a pool with heated spa.

"Byron Bay has become a more and more tightly held market within the last two years and cash flow properties rarely become available," Mr Bargwanna said.

"Recent development in and around Byron Bay such as Mercato on Byron, Seacliffs Byron Bay and West Byron Housing Development have also boosted values in the town."