Bumper harvest reaps property riches
Kingsley Motel and Cabernet restaurant in beautiful Manjimup
A freehold motel netting more than half a million dollars a year and with limited competition!
That’s the Kingsley Motel and Cabernet restaurant in beautiful Manjimup, 300km south of Perth – an agricultural and tourist hub in one of Western Australia’s boom farming areas.
The newly renovated property is built on more than one hectare and boasts 37 ground-level rooms, plenty of parking, large areas of lawn and a first-class restaurant offering farm to table, with locally sourced ingredients.
The owners have invested more than $750,000 in renovations and improvements for the motel over the last five years. Blair Macdonald, from Resort Brokers, said the property, on sale at $3.3 million, represented a blue-chip investment returning an average net profit of $517,000 per annum over the last five years.
The motel has a 4.0 score on TripAdvisor and there is limited competition in the area.
“The property is in excellent condition and all the hard work has been done for a new owner,” Mr Macdonald said.
“It’s a very successful business with an excellent return on investment.
“Manjimup is predominantly a great forestry region of Western Australia with a lot of agriculture and visitors all year round. Many people come to hunt truffles because it is one of the best places in Australia to find them.”
Manjimup also has a rapidly growing avocado industry, as the climate is perfectly suited for avocado trees, and together with the truffles those products are helping to drive strong economic growth in the region.
There is a constant stream of corporate clients staying at the motel in order to service these industries and many are long-term guests and repeat bookings.
The business generates 88 percent of all revenue through motel accommodation sales with the remaining 12 percent from the restaurant.
Revenues are driven primarily by corporate and government clients with the bonus of seasonal tourist accommodation, allowing the motel to operate at occupancy rates of between 55-60 percent.
Manjimup was once best known for the magnificent karri trees that supported its timber industry, but its fruit and vegetables have made it even more palatable for investment.
The “Pink Lady” apple was developed in a Manjimup orchard more than 50 years ago, and the local farm industry has continued to develop since then, with avocadoes, green tea, finger limes, and the rare gourmet black truffle all taking root in the region,
Visitors can buy the freshest produce straight from the farm gate, including apples, pears, cherries, nectarines, kiwi fruit, chestnuts, hazelnuts, cauliflower, broccoli, carrots and corn.
Manjimup is now ranked as the largest producer of black Périgord truffles in the southern hemisphere. Top restaurants throughout the world cook with Manjimup’s finest, including Thomas Keller’s French Laundry in Napa and Heston Blumenthal’s The Fat Duck in England.
Truffle season lasts from June to August and visitors are able to join truffle hunts, where they follow highly trained dogs that sniff their way through the orchards in search of the black truffle.
Manjimup also holds a variety of food-focused events each year including the iconic Truffle Kerfuffle in June, and the Cherry Harmony Festival.
More than 80 percent of the Manjimup region is national park and forest, with beautiful swimming holes, serene picnic spots and exhilarating mountain bike trails.
Manjimup’s Timber and Heritage Park offers a fascinating insight into the local timber industry through a museum, historical hamlet, vintage machinery and a blacksmith’s forge.
The Four Aces are a straight row of karri trees that are more than 300 years old and stand only one kilometre from One Tree Bridge, which was built from a single karri tree and survives as a testament to the ingenuity of the early pioneers.
The region’s wines also have an excellent reputation.
Pinot noir is widely planted, but the district’s cabernet sauvignon and merlot are beginning to make a name for themselves in an area fast building reputation as a major location for gourmet products.
Find the Kingsley Motel and Cabernet restaurant sale details HERE.
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Grantlee Kieza OAM has won three Queensland Media Awards, two Australian Sports Commission Awards and has been a finalist for the Walkley and News Awards and for the Harry Gordon Award for Australian sports journalist of the year. In 2019 he received the Medal of the Order of Australia for his writing. You can find more of his work in our AccomNews & Resort News print magazines.
He has written 22 acclaimed books, including bestsellers Hudson Fysh, The Kelly Hunters, Lawson, Banks, Macquarie, Banjo, Mrs Kelly, Monash, Sons of the Southern Cross and Bert Hinkler.
