Marilyn New sells Fremantle’s Esplanade Hotel for $90 million
Midland Brick heiress Marilyn New has secured a $90 million buyer for The Esplanade Hotel in Fremantle, Western Australia.
The 4.5-star hotel, which has 300-rooms, was bought by Ascendas – the Singaporean property fund that last year paid $327 million for Mirvac’s hotel portfolio, operated by French management group Accor.
New bought The Esplanade Hotel in Fremantle for $12.27 million in 1991, and she extensively refurbished it, doubled the number of rooms to 300 and created Perth’s third largest conference centre.
The Perth hotel accommodation sector has been the subject of renewed interest given its high occupancy of a steady 90% on weeknights and its ability to charge huge amounts for a room.
Despite this interest, New’s Esplanade River Suites in the Perth suburb of Como remains unsold. It was listed with the landmark Fremantle hotel through estate agency Jones Lang LaSalle in for a combined $120 million.
New also owns the dilapidated but heritage-listed Woolstores building by Fremantle’s Victoria Quay, where there is talk that it could be renovated into a funky boutique hotel despite the previous push to raze the historic structure.
