Ardent may sell land
DREAMWORLD owner Ardent Leisure is looking at developing “prime real estate” next to the Gold Coast theme park, potentially selling land that could have been used to expand the attraction.
Ardent said yesterday it had appointed a town planner to examine rezoning parts of the site for alternative uses.
The company did not elaborate on what those uses could be, but said it wanted to identify opportunities for unlocking value from the land adjacent to Dreamworld.
“Dreamworld is located on prime real estate adjacent to the new Coomera town centre and core infrastructure,” the company said in a statement.
“Ardent has, and will continue to, engage with thirdparty developers to discuss potential development opportunities and timing.”
Ground has been broken on a Westfield shopping centre nearby.
The theme park occupies 35ha of a 60ha plot owned by Ardent, with expansion of the park having been among the company’s long-term options.
It expects its theme parks division to lose money this financial year after visitor numbers fell following October’s fatal accident on the Thunder River Rapids ride.
Ardent said the review would have remained confidential until complete, but it was appropriate to tell shareholders after investors Gary Weiss and Kevin Seymour requested seats on the board.
The company said it had invited the pair, who together hold a 7.9 per cent stake, to dis- cuss the strategy, though a meeting had not taken place.
Ardent said it would continue to invest in Dreamworld to ensure it remained a key Gold Coast tourist attraction.
It also operates WhiteWater World on the Gold Coast and has said it expects a pre-tax earnings loss from its theme parks of between $2 million and $4 million.
Combined visitor numbers for March and April were down 36.7 per cent, reflecting the impact of last year’s four deaths at Dreamworld, as well as Cyclone Debbie. AAP