The Scarborough Hotel in Wollongong has been put up for sale by billionaire Bruce Gordon

“The Scarborough Hotel is a site with great potential and with two years left on the lease this is the right time to put it up for sale,” Lancaster said.

“Similar to our sale of the Clifton Hotel, we anticipate that a new owner will come up with fresh ideas on how to maximize the site’s appeal and the opportunities it offers.”

The Scarborough Hotel site is classified in Zone C4 Environmental Living, a zone for land of “particular environmental or landscape value on which residential development may be accommodated” and is being offered for sale by Colliers at an undisclosed price.

“We’ve only been live for 24 hours so no buyer leads yet, it’s a unique asset and the process will let us know what the market thinks,” said Simon Kersten, Managing Director of Colliers Wollongong.

The sale comes as the pub sector continues to attract significant buyer interest, with up to $3 billion worth of properties changing hands over the past year. The largest transaction this year was the recent sale of the Oaks Hotel in Sydney’s Neutral Bay for more than $150 million.

‘The Scarborough Hotel is a site with great potential and with two years left on the lease this is the right time to put it up for sale.’

Andrew Lancaster, CEO of WIN Corporation

The Corrimal Hotel in North Wollongong, bought for $10 million by Damian Kelly’s Pub Invest group in 2016, sold for $32.5 million last March after extensive renovations.

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Despite the divestment of the pubs, WIN will retain significant property holdings within the Illawarra. It is also focused on delivering the planned St. George Illawarra Dragons Community and High Performance Center at the University of Wollongong Innovation Campus over the next two years.

The group plans a $400 million upgrade of the Wollongong CBD to create the WIN Grand, which consists of three residential towers and a 39-story office building that will be the city’s tallest building.

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