West End Hotel, Sydney City, NSW.

 

175 Pitt Street, Sydney.

 

CMF Appointment:    Joint Venture

                                    Arrange Finance

                                    Development Management

 

CMF, in a joint venture with a consortium of local investors purchased the Hotel in Pitt Street Sydney and converted the property from a 90-room hotel to a 300 bed backpacker hostel.

 

The project involved a full renovation of a tired hotel and conversion of rooms to make them suitable for backpacker accommodation. The major challenges in completing the renovation revolved around the building hydraulics which were found to be worn out and incapable of supporting an increased number of visitors to the property. This issue caused considerable strain on the development budget which needed to be absorbed by the CMF and the investors.

 

The joint venture retained the property for two years after completion of the renovation with a nationally renowned backpack property manager operating the property on behalf of the owners. The property was sold to an international investor.

 

CMF structured the joint venture, provided equity, arranged finance, obtained the DA, supervised the renovation, negotiated terms with the operator and arranged the sale.