LIBBY Wilcox and Jaques Tranquille have lived and breathed the roadhouse business 24 hours a day, seven days a week for many years.
Now, Ms Wilcox’s Roebuck Plains Roadhouse and Mr Tranquille’s Billabong Roadhouse are among a dozen such businesses in Western Australia currently on the market.
Ms Wilcox is the co-owner of the Roebuck Plains Roadhouse, which has recently been listed for sale for $6.5 million, plus stock.
Roebuck Plains is located 33 kilometres outside of Broome on the T-junction of Broome Road and the Great Northern Highway, and is within 70 kilometres of Woodside’s proposed gas hub at James Price Point.
It is Ms Wilcox’s second roadhouse; she and her husband, Grahame, recently sold the Capricorn Roadhouse near Newman for $12.5 million to a large business consortium.
While the continuous flow of trade at Roebuck Plains makes the business a profitable one, Ms Wilcox said owning a roadhouse was not for the faint-hearted.
“It’s hard work like any business, especially when it comes to finding good staff,” Ms Wilcox told WA Business News.
“It is a good cash-flow business, it’s very reliable and people always need fuel, but it’s a 24-hour business, seven days a week.
“We are lucky to have good staff and low staff turnover, but the remoteness, serving the public all the time, and living on the premises can be challenging.”
Ms Wilcox said she has invested “a few million (dollars)” in completely revamping the Roebuck Plains.
The renovations have included replacing almost every piece of plant and equipment, constructing 10 new purpose-built hotel rooms for staff, and building a brand new ablution block for the roadhouse’s 32-bay caravan park.
Meanwhile, after four years of ownership, Billabong Roadhouse owner Mr Tranquille is also selling his roadhouse, for $2.6 million plus stock.
Located on the highway between Geraldton and Carnarvon, the Billabong is known for its classic music and photo wall of all its visitors.
Mr Tranquille said he saw the Billabong as an excellent opportunity for investment.
“If you buy a roadhouse you’re in it for the money, it’s as simple as that and it’s a great return of investment” he said.
Despite being located in isolated areas, Mr Tranquille said the life of a roadhouse owner was far from quiet.
“On an average day here we will pull around 300 people through the door, between July and October that is the busiest season here and you could pull anywhere up to 2,000 to 3,000 people a day,” he said.
“You need to be realistic about what your body can handle, you are working seven days a week as an owner-operator and you literally start work at 5am and finish at 8.30pm every day, so you have to be prepared for long hours.”
Ascend Business Brokers’ Phil Mulchay, who has three roadhouses currently listed for sale, said the state of the economy has caused buyers and sellers to exercise careful decision making.
“While I am getting good enquiry, the reality is the banks still won’t lend anything at the moment,” Mr Mulchay said.
“The economic conditions are also stopping a lot of operators putting their businesses on the market … and it’s got nothing to do with the business itself, but more to do with the lack of confidence in the commercial environment.”
