Roosters and Politis bet on Paddington co-living as clubs pour money into property deals

Sydney Roosters rugby league football club has extended its property portfolio footprint into the eastern suburbs, purchasing the boutique UKO Paddington co-living accommodation hostel at 250 Moore Park Road.

Led by chairman Nick Politis, the club paid about $10 million for the wholly renovated property in a prime position immediately opposite both Allianz Stadium and the Sporting Club of Sydney.

The Roosters are following the league’s playbook buying a 26-room boutique hostel in Paddington.Credit:

Many sporting clubs have branched into bricks and mortar investments, including the overriding National Rugby League which purchased two hotels in 2024 in Brisbane’s rugby league heartland to diversify its revenue stream.

The Ibis Styles in Port Macquarie and the Mantra Terrace Brisbane were purchased by the NRL for around $15 million and $23 million respectively.

The league also owns the Quest Hotel in Sydney’s Woolooware Bay, Brisbane’s Gambaro Hotel and The Mercure Sunshine Coast. The sites are near the homegrounds of the Cronulla Sharks, Brisbane Broncos and Redcliffe Dolphins.

Politis celebrates the 2019 grand final win.Credit: Getty

Now the Roosters are following the NRL governing body’s playbook. Their new Paddington pad is a 26-room boutique hostel with double street access and indoor and outdoor communal areas.

“We’re delighted with the acquisition of UKO Paddington, and in doing so furthering our broad strategic plan to future-proof the club’s financial strength via astute property and other strategic investments”, Sydney Roosters chief executive Joe Kelly said.

The transaction was handled by HTL’s Andrew Jackson, Andrew Jolliffe and Scott Callow. Separately, HTL is in the final stages of selling UKO Paddington’s sister property, UME Potts Point.

Hotel boom

Rich lister Dr Jerry Schwartz has bought the Blue Mountains Hospitality School in Leura to add to its property empire. Schwartz told participants at this week’s AHICE 2025 hotel conference in Adelaide that he wanted to expand his Blue Mountains-based Fairmont resort but was knocked back by the local council.

Hotel mogul Jerry Schwartz in the old monorail station at World Square.Credit: Dominic Lorrimer

“So I bought the opposite school,” he told the 500-strong audience. The school is across the road from Schwartz’s long-established Leura Gardens Resort in the NSW Blue Mountains which he relaunched under the management of Trilogy Hotels.

Set on four and a half acres of landscaped gardens, originally created in the 1920s by Lady Mabel Fairfax and her gardener Hector Hood, the 92-room resort features studio and family rooms, along with self-contained apartments.

Schwartz said he was now planning to consolidate his portfolio at a time when experts at the conference said the sector was on a growth trajectory.

Vanessa Rader, head of research for the Ray White Group, said Australia’s tourism sector is showing robust signs of recovery as international visitors return in significant numbers following the pandemic.

Recent data reveals international visitor arrivals to Australia are forecast to reach 8.3 million this year, about 88 per cent of pre-pandemic levels. Arrivals are projected to surpass pre-pandemic numbers by 2026, reaching a record 10 million international visitors.

Doors Plus

Doors Plus’ 13-strong Australian property portfolio is coming to market.

The portfolio includes 11 showrooms currently operated by Doors Plus that will be sold with attractive leaseback terms in place, as well as another two sites with vacant possession. One of those is a development site for a proposed showroom.

Doors Plus’ 13-strong Australian property portfolio is coming to market.Credit:

Spread across five states, there are five in NSW, four in Victoria, two in South Australia and one in both Queensland and the ACT. One Doors Plus tenant has traded in the showroom for more than 35 years.

Colliers’ Jordan McConnell and James Quick have the listing. Price expectations are in the mid-$30 million range with Ellerston Capital Solutions (ECS) acting as financial advisers.

Private club

A new private club called The Pillars has opened in Sydney in the former home of the Property Council of Australia at 11 Barrack place.

The club’s building was first occupied in 1858 by The State Savings Bank of New South Wales and was also home to the Commonwealth Bank.

Tracey Emin sits near her iconic art installation, My Bed, which was short-listed for the 1999 Turner Prize. Credit: Niklas Hallen

The venue is being billed as a new style of space for Australia’s male and female business community, aiming to create an environment where “leaders can connect and collaborate”.

Co-founded by Tank Stream Labs chief executive Bradley Delamare and Emma Blomfield, founder of EB Design Studio, the club has four levels. Its ground floor dining and bar – the recently opened two-hatted Eleven Barack by The Bentley Group – is overseen by Brent Savage and head chefs Aiden Stevens and Niro Richards.

A feature of the new club is its collection of Australian and international art works.

They include big names like Louise Olsen, Catherine Clayton-Smith, Diena Georgetti, Damien Hirst, Isaac Julien, Andy Warhol, Nick Modrzewski, Jude Cohen, Guy Bourdin, Tracey Emin and British artists Tim Noble & Sue Webster.

Carolyn Cummins can be contacted at [e-mail]

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