Tamworth's Best Western Sanctuary Inn sells to Sydney-based investor for more than $18 million

The Best Western Sanctuary Inn was sold to hotel fund Elanor Investors in an off-market transaction, which represents a record price for a hotel in regional NSW, according to agents HTL Property.

The Marius Street business was purchased by the Page family in 2005, and has been a family run enterprise ever since, known by many locals for its on-site restaurant, Riviera Bar and Grill.

The sale includes the restaurant and accommodation consisting of 60 rooms as well as a conferencing and events space.

General manager Robert Page told the Leader the new ownership won't affect staff, with only the family set to move on.

"We weren't actively looking to sell," he said.

"We were approached by the agent in August last year, and it just took that long to get it together, but nonetheless we did."

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He said the new owners have committed to keeping all current staff employed, but will be introducing new managers.

Robert's parents, Bill and Evelyn Page, are also set to move on after being at the helm of the hotel for many years.

"It's a tough job, but it's obviously been rewarding for us," Robert said.

"It's seven days a week, 365 days a year, working Christmas day and public holidays.

"We'll miss dealing with a lot of the local people. We know half the town through the hotel, and we won't have that anymore. It will be a bit strange for us. We don't know what our plans are moving forward."

The strength of the sale is a good indication of where the hospitality industry in regional Australia is going post-pandemic, Robert said.

"A lot of people are rediscovering Australia and the regional areas, and people have certainly been coming through Tamworth and enjoying it more often than they did before," he added.

HTL Property director Nic Simarro said there's been significant interest from large investment funds looking for price points greater than $15 million in the regional space.

"This is a major contributor to the exceptional result on this sale," he added.

"High performing regional hotels such as Best Western Sanctuary Inn Tamworth are rare to come by, despite being the most attractive to large investment funds."

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