Hotel & HospitalityHarrison CaithnessTue 11 Aug 26
Newcastle’s Three-Level Beachfront Merewether Surfhouse on Block
A multi-storey beachfront hospitality asset 4km south of Newcastle’s CBD has come to market.
The three-storey Merewether Surfhouse has a net footprint of 2,277sq m and includes a rooftop bar, a restaurant and a takeaway kiosk at ground level, opening onto beachfront outdoor seating.
HTL, who is handling the sale, said the surfhouse turned over more than $10 million a year.
Merewether Surfhouse was redeveloped in 2011 at a cost of $7 million.
The building’s current owners were involved in its construction, making this the first time the venue has been offered for sale.
The original pavilion, built around 1937, was rendered untenable by the 1989 Newcastle earthquake. It was demolished and replaced by the current surfhouse in 2011.
HTL Property’s Andrew Jolliffe—who, with Dan Dragicevich, is managing the sale—said the surfhouse was “undeniably” a generational asset and that it had generated international interest.
Jolliffe said enquiries had been received from the US and Hong Kong.
The pair were the agents to the sale of The Beach Hotel, also at Merewether, for $40 million in 2022 to Meridian Australia chief executive and hotelier Glenn Piper.
The agency also handled the sale of Sydney harbourside venue Hugo’s Manly for $20 million in 2024.
Jolliffe and Dragicevich said interest in hospitality venues in the Steel City was rising, pointing to Iris Capital’s $500 million asset trade—which included two venues less than 5km from the surfhouse, the Sydney Junction Hotel and QT Newcastle—with MA Financial’s Redcape Hotel Group in July as a prime example
Dragicevich said Newcastlewasis a “magnetic” investment centre, in part due to its proximity to Sydney to the south, Hunter Valley to the north, international flights to Williamstown Airport and the University of Newcastle.
An expressions of interest campaign for the surfhouse is due to close on August 20.
