Hotel "hiatus" in Victoria

The Munday Hotel Group in Victoria is up for grabs in the state's first substantial hotel market share opportunity since the introduction of gaming in 1992.

The gaming centric group comprises eight hotels with revenues in excess of $30m per annum, including the Golden Nugget Hotel, Court Jester Hotel and Players on Lygon.

Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels has been appointed as the exclusive agent for the sale, and John Musca, national director of pubs, said that this is a “unique and exciting” opportunity for interested parties.

"In Victoria the market is in a little bit of a hiatus since the government announced the new changes to the gaming legislation," he said. "The interest in the Melbourne hotel sector is gaining momentum."

The recent changes to the state's gaming legislation bring the system in line with the rest of the eastern seaboard, where licences to operate gaming machines are owned by the venue operators rather than by the two big gaming groups, Tabcorp and Tattersalls. The Victorian government has also announced a new gaming tax schedule.

"Now people know exactly what it's going to cost them to set up their pubs and to own their machines and their licences, and they know exactly what tax they are going to pay," Musca said.

Interest in the portfolio is high, with three "robust" offers already made, and the group expecting to sell for more than $50m.

Source: Hospitality Magazine