The three hotels, The Riviera Coastal Inn Suite Hotel, Diaz Beach Garden Route Boutique Hotel, Boland Park Hotel & Lodge, were brought to auction following the liquidation of the Hartkorp Group in the Southern Cape, and the suicide of its founder.

Hartkorp developed over R200 million worth of hotels, apartments and buildings, and was liquidated in May this year by its founder Hennie Van Niekerk, after its flagship Riviera Hotel slumped following the post-world cup leisure sector downturn. Included in the auction was a residential complex (Boland Park Villas) and two commercial properties, also belonging to the group.

Comments Auction Alliance CEO Rael Levitt, who conducted the sale on behalf of the liquidators, ‘’Although the hotels would have sold for more two years ago, we are pleased with the results considering the distress that the industry has experienced over recent years’’.

The Riviera Coastal Inn Suite Hotel in Hartenbos fetched R18.06 million, Diaz Beach Garden Route Boutique Hotel in Mossel Bay sold for R10.5 million and the Boland Park Hotel & Lodge and Boland Park Villas were sold to one buyer for R10.29million. 

The commercial properties which were offered are both situated in Hartenbos, and include Storage 4 U, a centrally situated and secure self storage facility, which also sold for R2,021 million and lastly Boulevard Place, a sectional title mixed-use building comprising retail and office space, which fetched R2.572 million.

“The portfolio of properties attracted extensive interest and the auction room was packed resulting in a heated bidding affair. Investors are realizing that they currently have a unique opportunity to access the hospitality sector at significantly discounted prices. The current distress being experienced by the sector, together with extremely low interest rates, has created a real buyer’s market right now”, adds Levitt. 

The sale is subject to the liquidator’s consent.

Auction Alliance has successfully sold various hotels and leisure properties across South Africa including, Harbour House Hotel in Hermanus for R18m, Hartenbos Eco Estate sold for R35m, Sitari Fields Golf Estate in Somerset West fetched R63m and 22 stands situated on Yzerfontein Beach in the West Coast secured R28m.