Maple-Brown family selling Queen Street properties for estimated $5 million
Capital Gain
The wealthy Maple-Brown family are selling two stores in leafy Woollahra for a total estimated price tag of around $5 million.
The high-profile investors founded the Maple-Brown Abbott fund management firm decades ago before selling the business to Antipodes, a subsidiary of Pinnacle Investment Management, in December 2024. Pinnacle currently has more than $20 billion in assets under management across four investment teams.
Sales agent Ben Vaughan of BresicWhitney East declined to provide a price guide for the adjacent stores at 146 and 148 Queen Street. Similar buildings have sold individually for between $2 million and $3 million.
Title deed documents show that the shops have been owned by the family for about nine years. They are sold together or separately. Both are occupied by tenants.
Woollahra is in the heart of Sydney’s upscale eastern suburbs, with a median household income of $3013, 45 per cent higher than Sydney’s average.
Just up the road from Maple-Brown’s property at 2a–14a Queen Street is Centennial Flats.
The Spanish Mission-style buildings, with 10 apartments and four ground-floor shops, are also for sale. It is on the market with a price expectation of approximately $16.5 million.
Con Harris Investments, a privately held family company, has owned the 682-square-metre corner building at Queen and Oxford Streets for more than 75 years.
The listing is held by Knight Frank’s James Masselos and Adam Droubi.
Brand New Dan
A newly built Dan Murphy’s in one of Sydney’s most heavily guarded lower North Shore suburbs has hit the market.
Private developer Central Element is selling ground floor property in Neutral Bay as part of the $180 million Pienza development project at 12 Waters Road.
The 1,217 square meter bottle shop generates $993,600 per year in rent for Endeavor Group on a 10-year lease and also generates additional income through 47 basement car parks managed by InterPark.
No price guide was given for the bottle shop, but the recently built Dan Murphy’s at 718-728 Military Road in Mosman, two suburbs away and owned by the ASX-listed Charter Hall group, sold to a Sydney-based private investor for $13.25 million in 2020.
Yosh Mendis and Zomart He of CBRE and Scott Stephens and Logan Grisaffe of Ray White Commercial North Shore are handling the sale.
And in nearby Cremorne, private investors English & Saunders are selling a commercial property at 261-263 Military Road for the first time in nearly 60 years.
The block includes a BMW showroom, exhibition space and downstairs workshop and car park. 100 percent of the expenses are covered by the tenant, resulting in a net income of $304,024 annually.
The site has mixed-use zoning and a 16-foot height limit, said Scott Stephens of Ray White Commercial North Shore, which is advising on the sale.
budget travel
YHA Australia is expanding to benefit budget-conscious travellers.
The nonprofit is renovating its existing bed and breakfasts, but new purchases depend on funding from high-net-worth investors.
YHA is now Australia’s first owned and operated accommodation network to achieve Certified B Corporation status, meeting travelers’ growing expectations for sustainable travel and accommodation options.
The Rocks, Sydney property received a $9.7 million upgrade in early 2025, with rooms offering modern amenities but retaining traditional lodge amenities.
Paul McGrath, managing director of YHA Australia, recently said his primary focus was “reinvigorating and modernizing the guest experience while maintaining our commitment to affordable accommodation.”
Hoteliers in Sydney are gearing up for next month’s VIVID event. Accor’s chief operating officer for the Pacific region, Adrian Williams, said last week’s AFL Gather Round in Adelaide set the bar high for special events, with all of Accor’s 13 hotels near capacity.
NSW Tourism Minister Steve Kamper said: Capital Gain He said the format of this year’s VIVID has changed with a free 6.5-kilometer Light Walk, which will feature more than 40 installations along a continuous route.
It said it would offer a “more user-friendly and immersive visitor experience”, stretching from Circular Quay and The Rocks to Barangaroo, Cockle Bay and Darling Harbour.
“For the first time in its history, Vivid Sydney will come to life both day and night, activating Circular Quay with a variety of art installations open to the public 24/7, while other pillars will offer daytime theatre, immersive dining experiences, talks and forums,” said Kamper.
carolynannecummins@gmail.com
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