Guy Grossi syndicate sells Bottega restaurant premises
The syndicate headed by the Melbourne restaurateur Guy Grossi has secured around $7.25 million for the Bottega restaurant premises.
The unconfirmed deal for the Bourke Street premises was struck on an estimated 2.9 per cent yield.
The selling price was well above the initial $5 million-plus expectations when it was listed for sale last month.
More than 250 parties inspected the premises, with 15 formal offers, including three parties who travelled from Asia to inspect the property.
The Melbourne CBD building housing Italian restaurant Bottega offered a 254sq m floorplan and 198sq m landholding.
Savills Australia agents Clinton Baxter, Nick Peden and Benson Zhou were selling the property via an expressions of interest campaign.
Marketing it as an “extremely rare CBD freehold investment” with the restaurant recently extending its lease to paying “a modest rental” of $211,940 per year.
Bottega is run by restaurateur Denis Lucey.
Grossi owns the 1880s-built two-storey building with his wife Melissa, sister along with business partner Liz Rodriguez and her husband, Grossi executive chef Chris Rodriguez.
Grossi, a judge on My Kitchen Rules, and his partners paid $2.375 million in late 2001 for 72-74 Bourke Street.
Savills Australia agent Clinton Baxter told the Herald Sun the buyer was a local private investor with other CBD property holdings.
“The scarcity of Melbourne CBD properties on the market, particularly below $10 million, is … resulting in significant pent-up demand,” he said.
