Newy 87.8 FM – Merewether Surfhouse at 5 Henderson Parade has been sold by its local consortium to a group led by hotelier Ben May, with the new owners planning to renovate and reopen the venue as Merewether Pavilion in 2027.
The vendors, a consortium including Tony Green and John Tierney who have operated the venue since its 2011 rebuild, sold through HTL Property agents Dan Dragicevich and Andrew Jolliffe after an international expressions-of-interest campaign that closed on 20 August 2026.
The property carried a price guide of $25 million. Mr Dragicevich told the Newcastle Herald the sale price was "slightly above" that guide, while several outlets have reported a figure of about $27 million. The exact price has not been officially disclosed.
The three-level venue has a 2,277-square-metre trading footprint and was built in 2011 on the site of the 1937 bathing pavilion damaged in the 1989 earthquake. It is held on a leasehold from City of Newcastle with roughly 35 years remaining.
Under the owners' stated plan, the new group takes over operations in October 2026 and will trade largely as-is through summer, before closing in February 2027 for a significant renovation and reopening in mid-to-late 2027 as Merewether Pavilion.
Mr May's venues include Burleigh Pavilion, The Tropic, Terrigal Pavilion and The Joey at Palm Beach, and he previously operated Manly Wharf.
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