Ex-Crown boss Peter Crinis to head PUBLIC hotel company as it heads for the ASX

Longtime Crown Resorts heavyweight Peter Crinis is set to emerge at the helm of a hotel company that will list on the Australian Securities Exchange next year.

Peter Crinis as left Crown Resorts and will become chief executive of the PUBLIC Group that plans to float on the ASX. Picture: John Feder

Longtime Crown Resorts heavyweight Peter Crinis is set to emerge at the helm of a hotel company that will list on the Australian Securities Exchange next year and target the millennial customers big pub chains and hoteliers overlook.

Mr Crinis, whose last role for the James Packer-backed gambling company was as chief executive for Crown Sydney and overseeing the casino group’s hotels nationally, is in Sydney pitching a pre-IPO raising of $58m.

Crown has seen an exodus of senior talent after commissions and inquiries in three states, which hit the company hard after its NSW casino licence was temporarily revoked and, in Victoria, commissioner Ray ­Finkelstein recommended Crown be overseen by a “special manager”.

Mr Crinis, who had 20 years at Crown, will head the PUBLIC group, the brainchild of high-profile deal-maker Jon Adgemis backed by Alex Waislitz-led investment house Thorney.

They plan to float a $400m hotel company stocked up with cool inner-city and regional properties that appeal to a younger crowd who are taking to drinking and travelling locally while international travel is restricted.

They have compared their plans to funky international brands such as Ace, Soho and Generator that have emerged in recent years.

The company is raising up to $58m via a redeemable secured convertible note that will pay 12 per cent a year and is targeting a second-quarter listing next year. Thorney Group is cornering the capital raise and will have a director on the board.

Mr Adgemis’s Jaga Group has assembled the portfolio over the past six years, which spans 14 hotels in inner Sydney and Melbourne, as well as regional NSW, with additional operated properties in Sydney.

Sydney financier Lance Rosenberg’s investment bank Gleneagle is handling the capital raising, which could help the property company grow its network of venues. Many were refurbished ­during lockdowns and are ready to open, giving the company more than 230 rooms by mid-2022.

The portfolio has been valued at about $400m and earns revenues from accommodation, food and beverages, gaming and ancillary services. It owns pubs such as The Arts Hotel in Oxford St, Paddington, and The Exchange Hotel in Darlinghurst, The Empire Hotel in Annandale and The Saint Hotel in Fitzroy St in St Kilda.

Company earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation is forecast at about $32m a year and if the float gets up it will bring back a pure hotel company to the listed market.

PUBLIC says there is a gap in accommodation between the traditional short and long-stay markets, which it plans to exploit by developing vibrant and bespoke lifestyle and accommodation experiences. It also plans to get into the co-living market, which is also addressing the needs of the fast-growing 18-35 demographic.

Mr Adgemis has parlayed his experience in corporate finance at Gresham Partners and KPMG to become one of the best-known property players in Sydney.

He was a former adviser to businesswoman Jan Cameron and appeared as the corporate regulator’s star witness in her trial last month. She pleaded not guilty to criminal charges laid by the Australian Securities & Investments Commission, which alleged she did not disclose her ties to the Black Prince entity.