$60m Gold Coast hotel leads sales take off
The Rydges Gold Coast Airport Hotel has changed hands for a hefty $60m in a major off-market deal.
In a sign of confidence returning to the domestic and international tourism sectors, the Rydges Gold Coast Airport Hotel has changed hands for a hefty $60m in a major off-market deal.
The vendor, Darwin businessman John Robinson, is understood to have sold the 200-room property, which was developed about four years ago, to Star Hotels Queensland boss Steven Shoobridge, who runs the Sunshine State’s largest independent hospitality group.
The deal is believed to have been negotiated by CBRE Hotels director Wayne Bunz. However, Mr Bunz refused to comment.
According to its website, the hotel is metres from Gold Coast Airport’s domestic and international terminals, and only five minutes from the Gold Coast beaches and Coolangatta town centre.
The hotel complex features a landscaped resort-style swimming pool with cardio machines overlooking the airport runway. The conference and event spaces cater to groups of up to 200 people.
Mr Shoobridge, a Harvard graduate, is based in Queensland and employs about 1200 staff. He owns several major pubs in the state, including the historic 1934-built Aspley Hotel in Brisbane’s North that he purchased from Redcape last year.
Star Entertainment is Queensland’s biggest independent hospitality group, with 18 hotels and about 46 bottle shops.
Other parts of regional Australia are also seeing deals, with Iris Capital offloading the Ibis Budget in Dubbo, NSW, to a private portfolio owner for an undisclosed sum. The hotel was sold by JLL Hotels specialists Greg Jeloudev and Andrew Langsford.
The Ibis Budget has 65 ensuited accommodation rooms on a 3963sq m corner site. It also has a restaurant, pool and car park and runs at an occupancy rate of about 75 per cent, with this expected to lift due to nearby renewable infrastructure projects. The buyer is planning to reposition the current hotel.
Mr Jeloudev said private capital “continues to pour into the mid-scale accommodation market, particularly for assets with substantial value-add opportunities”.
Other sales in regional NSW include the Ten Dollar Town Motel in Gulgong and Mantra Bathurst Hotel.
