Airlie Beach Hotel leasehold sold

Queensland's Airlie Beach Hotel has been sold after being on the market for the first time in over 30 years.

It took around a year to find the buyer and there was no price revealed.

It is understood local interests secured the leasehold of the waterfront Airlie Beach Hotel.

CBRE Hotels’ Wayne Bunz and Hayley Manvell managed the transaction on behalf of the O’Neill family, who have owned the asset for over 30 years.

The family will continue to own the freehold with a new operator.

The Courier Mail advised industry sources calculated the leasehold sold for about $3 million.

The hotel has three major street frontages and is on what is considered to be one of the most strategic land holdings on the Whitsunday coast. 

Wayne Bunz, CBRE Hotels agent said the Airlie Beach Hotel is situated on a significant 8,819 sqm waterfront site, in what is arguably the best location in the Airlie Beach CBD, with never to be built out views across to the Whitsunday Island

“It has been well maintained by the family with constant capital expenditure totalling approximately $3.5 million over the past five years,” he said.

The building facilitates 80 accommodation rooms, conferencing facilities, a commercial car park, a restaurant, a pub, retail liquor sales, 35 gaming machines and a stable retail rental income.

The retail tenancies have a "substantial" Weighted Average Lease Expiry (WALE), with the first lease expiring in 2022.

Christie Leet from PRD Nationwide said the property is one of the most strategic land holdings on the Whitsunday coast.

“A site of this size cannot be replicated on Airlie Beach’s Main Street, where over 60% of properties are already strata titled,” Mr Leet said.