Mount Panorama, Bathurst hotel sale price comes through as $8.35 million

The freehold price of the 141 strata apartments at Rydges Mount Panorama hotel has emerged as $8.35 million.

The hotel, which overlooks the Bathurst race track, sold earlier this year to Avi Rubinstein from St Ives in Sydney and Andrew Schwartz from Hawthorn in Melbourne, heading the sydnicate assembled by property investment bank Qualitas.

Rubinstein is a former managing director of FAI Property Services Ltd and has been active for many years in the accommodation industry in Australia and New Zealand.

Andrew Schwartz is the former Babcock & Brown Australian property head.

The four directors of the purchasing company are listed as Rubinstein, Andrew Schwartz, Alan Schwartz from Toorak and the Abacus head, Frank Woolf from Cammeray in Sydney. Andrew, Alan and Alan’s wife, Carole, are all on the board of the private equity Qualitas Property Partners.

The hotel was listed for sale in May last year by the court-appointed receivers The Royal Bank of Scotland subsidiary BOS International (Australia) Ltd, which held the first of three registered mortgages. Babcock & Brown held the third registered mortgage.

The hotel, positioned to give motoring fans a prime view of the famed Bathurst 1000 race in the western NSW city, was developed for more than $50 million but its owner went into receivership in 2007 when it was 90%. The offering included commercial splace plus 135 apartments consisting of 65 studios, 59 x 1 bedroom, 2 x 2 bedroom, 9 x 3 bedroom units; plus a 2 bedroom manager’s residence.

A creditors’ report showed the company owed $30.7 million when it fell into receivership. By August last year that had risen to $49.3 million.

Set on a 1.6 hectare holding the hotel opened in September 2009 and its revenue for 10 month period of July 2010 - April 2011 was $4.2 million, reflecting a steady growth trajectory.

Operating with 118 rooms, the accounts illustrated the hotel achieved an average room rate of $145.74 on average occupancy of 53.3% – both above the regional average.

Occupancy for the local market has operated in the low to mid 50% range for the last 10 years.

Bathurst councillor Ross Thompson told the Western Advocate in November last year that the hotel was available for a “steal”.

The four-star hotel, which features 135 residential apartments over seven levels, has been in receivership since opening its doors to the public in September 2009, “a period marred by the economic downturn,” according to the investment report.

The accommodation was entirely sold out for last year’s Bathurst 1,000.

Rydges has taken over as managers of the resort and is promoting it as the “new Rydges Mount Panorama Bathurst”.

Mirvac Hotels previously managed the hotel as the Citigate Mount Panorama and initially Best Western held the management rights when billed as the most prestigious and largest tourism boon to the Bathurst region by RFMedia who introduced the legendary Peter Brock as the project's ambassador.

"Brock's untimely death saw Best Western exit," according to the then publicist Rae Francis.

It had been listed through CRBE after court appointed receivers.