Landmark hotel sells for first time
THE Watermark Hotel in Surfers Paradise has a new owner for the first time since it was built more than 20 years ago, in a deal likely to top $100 million.
Japanese travel company HIS Investments bought the valuable block of land, sandwiched between Gold Coast Hwy and Surfers Paradise Blvd, at Hamilton Ave in 1994, and developed it into a 388-room hotel.
Melbourne-based SB & G Hotel Group today announced they had bought the
property in a package with the smaller Brisbane Watermark hotel.
The group declined to reveal the price, saying only that they were “attractively priced on a per room basis,
materially lower than replacement cost”.
A deal at around $110 million for both properties reportedly fell through last month, opening the door for SB & G. It plans to eventually rebrand one or both hotels, replacing the Watermark name with “a global hotel brand”.
It is the group’s first foray into Queensland as it looks to increase its portfolio to $1 billion.
SB & G managing director Paul Salter said the purchase, due to settle by June 30, “represents a strong opportunity for growth given the synergies with our existing portfolio of hotels across Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra, acquired in December 2015”.
The group hopes to tap into the local corporate market, as well as the growing leisure and tourism market that is attracted to the Gold Coast.
The Brisbane property features 94 guest rooms, conferencing and food and beverage facilities.
HIS Investments bought the site of the Surfers Paradise Watermark, at 31 Hamilton Ave, for $9 million in 1994. The group protested the construction of Sunland’s Q1 building down the road in 2002, because it would block ocean views for their hotel guests.
Matthew Cheng of M2 Property Agency handled the sale. HIS operates hotels in Japan and Bali.