Last hotel up for sale

Port Hedland’s historic Pier Hotel is officially for sale.

Picture by Alex Massey

Michael Hales, the North West specialist for William Porteous Properties International, said the sale could lead to one of two key outcomes.

“Because the hotel is built across seven titles, someone might look to buy and develop the existing hotel and its improvements or the entire site could be redeveloped with the hotel’s business components providing a good cash flow that would cover interim holding costs,” he said.

“We are expecting an extremely high level of interest. Several hotels that have come on the market in Port Hedland and Karratha in the past few years have had a high level of inquiry and quite high sale prices.”

The hotel is owned by Port Hedland businesswoman Lynne Taylor and its listing follows an unofficial marketing campaign to gauge buyer interest.

“The owner had discussions with a few people over the past few years and two months ago was entertaining offers with an advertisement but I have since been engaged by her to put the sale out more broadly,” Mr Hale said.

“The owner is looking to sell because she has been involved with the Pier Hotel for a number of years and is hoping to pursue a lifestyle change.”

The seven titles straddled by the hotel create a development area totalling 5687sqm in the heart of Port Hedland, where there is a severe shortage of residential and visitor accommodation because of the influx of workers to service the nearby iron ore industry.

The hotel has a town centre zoning, which Mr Hale said cleared the way for a number of development options.

“The Town of Port Hedland was proactive and keen to promote town developments but buyers need to make their own investigations to the council,” he said.