Freehold Interest in St Kilda’s iconic Village Belle Hotel on the market

Melbourne’s pub investment market continues to fire with the Freehold Interest of St Kilda’s iconic Village Belle Hotel for sale, presenting as one of the most anticipated hotel investment offerings in recent years. ‘The Belle’ is being offered exclusively for sale via JLL’s Will Connolly, Stuart Taylor, Tom Noonan and MingXuan Li via an international ‘Expressions of Interest’ campaign. 

Situated in the heart of St Kilda’s famous retail & dining precinct, the Village Belle Hotel is undoubtedly one of Australia’s most spectacular venues. Having undergone an extensive $15m+ renovation and restoration in late 2017, the property now stands as a true local landmark. The Freehold Interest is being offered for sale subject to a long-term lease to one of Australia’s largest pub operators, Australian Venue Co, whom have recently acquired the Leasehold Business, which was transacted by JLL Hotels.

Commanding a large corner site of 1,308sqm with favourable Commercial 1 Zoning, the property provides investors with a net annual income of $1,458,339, annual rental growth along with the added security of a 10-year initial term, followed by four further terms of 10-year options. The electrifying offering also includes an adjoining apartment complex located at the rear of the hotel, offering 12 near-new, separately leased, residential apartments, built in 2017 as part of redevelopment and renovation of the property. 

JLL Hotels Vice President, Will Connolly, anticipates the Village Belle as being one of the year’s most talked about and sought after opportunities, commenting “All of the classic real estate terms come to mind when considering the Village Belle, it will be a genuine trophy asset for most, given its incredible location and pristine condition, whilst proving to be a generational asset for those lucky enough to acquire it, evidenced by the fact that this sensational property is being offered for the first time in over 20 years. 

“These factors add to the significant upside of inheriting one of the country’s largest covenants in Australian Venue Co, and we expect this incredible hotel to be the true ‘Belle’ of the ball amongst investors”.

The Village Belle is being offered to market in the midst of an unprecedented surge of hotel investment transactions in 2021 within not only Victoria in recent weeks, but across the country with these including:

Stuart Taylor, Senior Director, JLL Retail Investments, concluded that given three of the past four Victorian hotel investment sales have been new entrants to the market, it provides a clear indication that this sector is now firmly on the radar of traditional retail property investors. “We expect this trend of yield compression and new sources of capital to continue, as investors are becoming increasingly aware that these hospitality assets provide strong tenant covenants, landlord favourable leases and attractive underlying land value. 

“Demand for long WALE assets has never been stronger, and the exposure to core capital to this asset class is just beginning”.

The Freehold Interest in the Village Belle Hotel is available via international Expressions of Interest closing Thursday 25 November at 5pm.