Capital Gain
PR maven Roxy Jacenko is aiming to get a handy $10 million from the sale of her former headquarters in Sydney’s upmarket eastern suburbs as she joins her husband, Oliver Curtis, in Singapore.
The founder of the Sweaty Betty PR firm has moved to be with Curtis who, after a stint in prison, now runs artificial intelligence infrastructure start-up Firmus.
Jacenko, who stepped down from her business four years ago, paid about $2.66 million for the freehold site at 7–13 Elizabeth Street, Paddington, in 2014. The property was also in the news in 2019 for an infamous “poo jogger” incident, which sparked a police investigation.
The 290-square-metre landholding sits on a prominent corner site. It has three street frontages and a north-facing view overlooking Strong Memorial Reserve. It comes with a lease to Sydney Sotheby’s International Realty until May 2027.
Jacenko said that when she was starting the business, she had considered taking a floor in a large, characterless building in Darlinghurst or Surry Hills. Instead, she bought the Paddington site with a view to developing it into apartments or townhouses.
“That [Darlinghurst] space was functional, but completely uninspiring. Paddington offered something entirely different,” Jacenko told Capital Gain. “The leafy streets, the village energy, the proximity to great schools, cafes and retail, and it created an environment that worked on every level.
“As a tenant, you enjoy the address. As a landlord, you own the asset that the address creates. Paddington’s non-traditional commercial profile meant that scarcity worked in our favour – there simply weren’t many buildings like it, and that scarcity has only grown more pronounced over time.”
James Cowan, of Colliers, is advising on the sale through a public auction on May 12.
Mac attack
The McDonald’s outlet in Yass, regional NSW, is being sold by private investor Chris Garnaut as a freehold with a long lease to the fast food giant.
The buyer of the 1713 Yass Valley Way property will become a “partner” with McDonald’s and will receive 6.5¢ of every dollar spent at the restaurant, without any operational risk, capital expenditure obligations or management complexity, with a triple net lease structure.
McDonald’s Yass, which sits on a 3571-square-metre freehold site with nearly 200 metres of frontage to the Hume Highway, has recorded compounded annual sales growth of 4.26 per cent since 2003. The lease has generated a 150 per cent increase in rental income over that period.
No price was disclosed, but as a guide, JLL’s recent sale of a McDonald’s restaurant in Hampton Park achieved a 2.78 per cent yield, and other recent similar transactions settled in the mid to high 3 per cent range.
In Australia, McDonald’s operates more than 1000 restaurants, generating revenue of $2.22 billion in the 2024 fiscal year, a 3.7 per cent year-on-year increase. The company has committed to investing a further $450 million to remodel half of its store network.
JLL’s David Mahood, Sebastian Fahey and George Daley have been appointed to sell the property.
Gaming pub snapped up
A large consortium, including pub barons Nicholas Quinn, Sean O’Hara, Arthur Laundy and Craig Laundy, has paid $20 million for the Imperial Hotel in Singleton, in regional NSW.
The pub transaction, which follows a recent record-breaking sale of The Tamworth Pub Group for $160 million, reflects the popularity of the pub sector.
The hotel, set on a 3522-square-metre corner site at 183-185 John Street in Singleton’s main retail precinct, has 23 gaming machines and a 3am trading licence.
Singleton, about 200 kilometres north-west of Sydney, has experienced ongoing population growth and investment, supporting demand for hospitality and gaming venues. JLL Hotels & Hospitality group’s Kate MacDonald and Greg Jeloudev managed the sale.
Key St Leonards site on market
The last piece of the 88 by JQZ mixed-use precinct at 558 Pacific Highway, St Leonards, on Sydney’s lower north shore is for sale with a price tag of about $170 million.
Completed in 2023, 558 Pacific Highway is a 14-storey office tower that has direct access to the St Leonards railway station and bus interchange. It has 17,394 square metres of net lettable area of office space and retail.
JQZ’s $1.3 billion site also has two residential towers, one 47 and the other 26 storeys.
Colliers agents Matthew Meynell, Tyler Talbot, Catherine Scott and Alex McColl, together with CBRE’s James Parry and Mitch Noonan, have been appointed to manage the sale.
