The acquisition will be funded through the newly-established Moelis Australia Courthouse Fund.
This latest purchase follows Moelis’ aquisition of the iconic Byron Bay hotel late last year in a record-breaking pub deal worth about $104 million. The Melbourne-based funds house also controls the Redcape Hotel Group, one of the country’s biggest pub portfolios, after sealing a $677 million deal back in 2017.
HTL Property’s Dan Dragicevich, Andrew Jolliffe and Sam Handy sold the Sydney property on behalf of its long-term owners.
“The Courthouse has to be one of the most recognisable pubs in Sydney and having been in the same hands for over 30 years, the uniqueness of the offering attracted significant interest from a broad range of buyer profiles,” Mr Dragicevich said.
“The widely held view is that Oxford Street is in for a renaissance in the years to come as astute investment houses and developers seek a foothold in what will be the citys only 24-hour precinct following the reshaping of the lockout laws,” he said.
Mr Jolliffe said that despite sales numbers being down compared to the same period last year, HTL Property’s data showed there had been 37 sales in 36 weeks between March and November, which showed there were still willing buyers, sellers and financiers.
“The asset class remains heavily pursued by astute sources of both capital and debt, and represents a safe investment environment in a geographically shrinking region for A-grade opportunities” Mr Jolliffe said.