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A private capital group owned by Australia’s poker machine king is pressuring a Sydney council to sell public land to make way for a major expansion of a shopping centre, which would include a tavern with a sprawling gambling den.
Iris Capital owner Sam Arnaout, a former panel beater turned billionaire, bought the St Ives Shopping Centre and 12 adjoining retail sites on Sydney’s upper north shore for $450 million in April, in what was billed as the largest “neighbourhood” shopping centre sale in Australian history.
Pub baron Sam Arnaout wants to do a major redevelopment of the St Ives Shopping Centre.
His company group wants to expand the shopping centre to create “a human-centred market and cultural experience with a broad range of quality shops and services to meet the needs of the local community”.
It has plans for enhanced retail space, new restaurants, cafes and outdoor dining, and an entertainment precinct anchored by a seven-screen cinema. It also wants to repurpose buildings to make way for a tavern, which Iris Capital says will boost the night-time economy in St Ives.
However, the company has told Ku-ring-gai Council that its plans are feasible only if it can buy council-owned local lanes around the shopping centre. The roads will be closed under the deal.
“Iris Capital’s proposal is contingent on acquiring this land so it can take a holistic approach to the expansion and traffic-management planning,” the company says in documents lodged with the council.
The public consultation period on the sale of the public lanes was due to finish on Christmas Eve but federal MP for Bradfield Nicolette Boele intervened, posting on social media that the council had “accepted our recommendation to extend the submission deadline”.
Billionaire Sam Arnaout has a stake in casinos, property developments and a number of hotels.Credit: Natalie Boog
“It gives locals the time and space they need to properly consider the proposal and have their say,” Boele said in a Facebook post. The deadline has been extended until January 9.
As well as expanding the retail footprint of the shopping centre, Iris Capital also intends to lodge a development application with the council for a tavern on Mona Vale Road, the ground floor of which would house a 200-square-metre gaming room.
Arnaout has amassed a multibillion-dollar portfolio of gambling dens, pubs, motels, apartments and casinos through Iris Capital. Last year, The Australian Financial Review reported that Arnaout had overtaken his more well-known rivals, Justin Hemmes and Arthur Laundy, to be the undisputed king of pubs and pokies in Australia.
As part of the St Ives Shopping Centre redevelopment, Sam Arnaout wants to develop a tavern.
Arnaout, who rarely speaks to the media, began building his gambling and property empire in 1995, and his poker machine empire stretches from the Northern Territory to the east coast.
He owns casinos in Alice Springs and Canberra and dozens of hotels in NSW, including two in the top 10 most-profitable pubs for gambling profits, along with marquee venues such as The Bourbon in Kings Cross and The Steyne in Manly.
His venues have previously come to the attention of the gambling regulator for offering credit card withdrawals from ATMs and connecting the gaming rooms at two hotels via an internal door to create a giant gambling den.
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In 2018, Arnaout unsuccessfully applied to the Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority to build a second hotel in the carpark of his profitable Wentworth Hotel, with an additional 20 poker machines.
In documents lodged with Ku-ring-gai council, Iris Capital says that to “deliver our vision for St Ives Shopping Village, we need access to more land”.
“Each year, interested retailers in entertainment, sport, education, leisure and hospitality are turned away from St Ives Shopping Village due to a lack of retail space,” the documents say.
“As well as a better community experience, Iris Capital’s vision to expand and upgrade the centre will support the retailers, the community, local jobs and the local economy.”
Iris Capital bought the 17,475 square metre, triple-supermarket-anchored shopping centre from the private EK Nominees, which has owned it for 39 years. The centre has a Woolworths, a Coles and a Harris Farm Markets, and an additional 105 specialty tenancies.
In Shopping Centre News’ annual ranking of Mini Gun Shopping Centres, the St Ives Shopping Centre was ranked first with moving annual turnover of $264 million a year.
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