The Noosa Reef Hotel, the pub with one of the best outlooks in the nation, has sold at auction to a local commercial investor for $13.9 million.
The 1980s-style favourite, which sits atop the tourist town’s hill and offers stunning views of Laguna Bay, was a rare offering.
The seller was ALE Property group, which has hotels across Queensland, including the iconic Breakfast Creek in Brisbane.
Auction Group’s Gordon Macdonald, also a Sunshine Coast News property columnist, was the auctioneer.
Mr Macdonald said there were five registered bidders at the Tuesday auction and bidding opened up on a vendor’s bid of $10m.
He said there was then a string of $250,000 bids to $12,500,000 where the bidding was paused. Negotiations continued and the eventual purchaser achieved the property for $13.9m.
“It was a great result for all concerned,’’ Mr Macdonald said. “The Noosa economy has been one of the strongest in the country over the past 12 months and this is another example of how well it is going.’’
The property was marketed by Jacob Swan and Sam Hatcher of JLL Retail Investments.
The popular pub is leased to the Endeavour Group until 2029 with the tenant holding four 10-year options beyond that. It currently returns a net annual income of $692,515.
The Noosa Reef Hotel sits on an expansive 5069sq m site and is considered an excellent long-term investment given its prime location and reputation.
JLL’s Sam Hatcher previously said the Noosa housing market had continually seen record results in recent times, with southern buyers looking to secure their own slice of the Noosa hotspot.