Revolver is up for sale but the nightclub won’t be affected
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13.05.2020

Revolver is up for sale but the nightclub won’t be affected

Words by Tom Parker

A fair bit of attention has surrounded a listing on the Real Commercial website.

Melbourne’s iconic Revolver is up for sale but that won’t affect the operation of Revolver Upstairs given the nature of the venue’s lease.

The listing of the building raised concerns as to how it will operate once a new owner comes on board, but any uncertainty can be put to bed after current vendor Kurt Falkenstein provided clear reassurance.

“[Revolver Upstairs] won’t be affected,” Falkenstein told Beat Magazine. “I’ve been a longterm tenant in the building with Revolver, we’re great friends, and before offering the property to the market we ensured their longterm future was secured in their lease – the actual terms of that are confidential – but that was a really important consideration. We didn’t want to send a signal to the market that this was a knockdown job.

“We’re bringing the properties to market with the opportunity for someone to, I guess, be the proud landlord of a cultural icon just as we have been for a little while.”

For Falkenstein, the motivation behind the move is to find someone with expertise and who can capitalise on the space.

“We were ready to go before COVID occurred – the motivation behind the sale was really about bringing in a longterm owner that has the experience to really get the most out of the site,” Falkenstein continued.

“I’m 35 and I’m a lawyer by profession. I just don’t really have the experience to take it the full way. With that said, I’m a committed longterm tenant which enables us to exercise a lot of influence through our leases to ensure that it stays Revolver until it’s time for Revolver to call it quits, which is hopefully never.”

Falkenstein said that they will be asking for in excess of $20 million for the property.

The announcement comes after The Gaso listed the sale of its business just a few weeks ago and alternative concerns for live music venues were raised regarding a recent support fund announced by the State Government.

Check out the listing here.

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