Clive Palmer buys Townsville office as new headquarters
Billionaire Clive Palmer has continued his aggressive real estate buying spree, acquiring a heritage-listed commercial building at an auction in Townsville.
The billionaire businessman proposes making the three-level Flinders St building the new north Queensland headquarters for Queensland Nickel, which he is attempting to reopen after its liquidation in 2016.
Cashed-up, partially from the weak Australian dollar, Palmer also recently bought a six-bedroom mansion in the Perth suburb of Applecross for $4.6 million, at a $3.35 million discount on its original asking price of nearly $8 million. The mansion has a private walkway to the Swan River.
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Meanwhile in Townsville, Palmer’s new commercial property, “The Queensland Building”, was bought at auction on Wednesday for $780,000. It was constructed in 1892 as the head office for insurance company Burns Philp and boasts 368sqm over three levels, in a prominent CBD location.
The mining magnate says it is a “disgrace” Queensland Nickel was put into liquidation, which had put thousands of people out of work.
“The liquidators put themselves before the Townsville community when Queensland Nickel was fully solvent. They could have kept the refinery operating; instead they chose to destroy thousands of lives,’’Palmer claims.
Palmer says he is “voting with his money” and making “a further commitment to the people of Townsville with the purchase of the building”.
The building attracted up to 10 bids and was sold through Colliers International.
This article originally appeared on www.theaustralian.com.au/property.
