Third time lucky for discount king Dimmeys

The Zappelli family, owners of the under-liquidation Dimmeys discount retail chain, is selling a 3885 square metre land holding in Brunswick worth around $15 million.

The move comes as Doug Zappelli buys Dimmeys for the third time in 25 years.

The swag of Brunswick warehouses and a handful of tired single-fronted weatherboards make up the offering at 8-24 Peveril Street and 17-19 Cozens Street, opposite the Brunswick Tram Depot and close to Moreland Railway Station.

Agents Killen Thomas has the off-market listing but rebuffed any questions.

Mr Zappelli told Capital Gain he wouldn’t sell for less than $15 million and any deal would help get him out of debt.

Dimmeys holding company Cool Breeze Clothing was put into voluntary administration last November after 166 years of trading. Last month, it went into liquidation with Hall Chadwick.

Mr Zappelli said the Covid-19 crisis had worsened Dimmeys position as all cash flow dried up.

He hopes to reopen the Victorian shops next week but will lease out the interstate properties.

Mr Zappelli doesn’t technically own the business now. According to documents lodged with the corporate regulator, he transferred his stake in Cool Breeze Clothing to his children Luke and Nicole Zapelli in 2013-14.

That’s when Dimmeys last went bust. Dimmeys collapsed in 2013 after Mr Zappelli, Dimmeys and the family’s Starite Distributors were hit with a $3 million fine over the sale of faulty and dangerous items. Mr Zappelli was also banned from directorships for six years.

The biggest creditor in the current Cool Breeze Clothing collapse is Starite Distributors which is owed $6.68 million, according to the liquidator’s report.

The Zappellis have made plenty from Dimmeys over the years, selling the flagship Richmond store to developers in 2008 for $16 million. The Goulburn store was sold for $5.1 million earlier this month.

Flinders Edition

A strata office in Brendan Sullivan’s Flinders Lane office project has fetched $1.2 million.

Colliers International agent Anthony Kirwan, who sold the 142 sq m office with Chris Ling and George Davies, said the campaign was “significantly interrupted by Covid-19 restrictions and limitations but despite this, we received a raft of offers.”

The winning bidder trumped three other competitors with a seven-day settlement. The price equated to $8,450 a sq m.

Mr Sullivan bought the 517-535 Flinders Lane building in 2011 from the Smorgon family. He renamed it The Edition, refurbished and strata-titled individual offices and started selling them individually in 2017, making more than $60 million profit.

Dan's dog days

The coronavirus has seen off one of Melbourne’s iconic pubs, Carlton landmark the Dan O’Connell, which is for sale with vacant possession.

The hotel lost its big payday when this year’s St Patricks Day - March 17 - coincided with strict public health regulations.

The 500 people allowed - briefly - in mid-March seems like a huge crowd now but a couple of years ago 6000 people came for a drink on St Patrick's Day and 6000 kegs of beer were ordered for this year’s festivities.

An expressions of interest campaign opens next week through Fitzroys agents David Bourke and Chris James, and closes on July 1. It’s expected to sell for more than $2.5 million.

The Dan, a classic 1880s Arts and Crafts-style building dates back to 1884. It is on a high-profile 520 sq m corner site at 222-227 Canning Street.

Mr Bourke said “Pub and hospitality operators are expected to show huge interest in an incredibly rare opportunity to acquire outright one of Melbourne’s oldest pubs.”

But interest is also expected from developers for other uses such as childcare or student accommodation.

“The gentrification of the inner-north had seen an influx of young families that would likely draw the attention of childcare centre operators,” Mr James said.