BRISBANE, 1 September 2021 – JLL Hotels & Hospitality Group has been exclusively appointed to manage the sale of Castaways Resort & Spa, Mission Beach in Tropical North Queensland.
Castaways offers 200 metres of beachfront land on the pristine Mission Beach, a 14-km stretch of idyllic sand located 90 minutes south of Cairns. The property is situated amongst some of Australia’s most impressive natural environments, offering exquisite views over the Coral Sea, convenient access to the Great Barrier Reef, the surrounding Family Group of Islands and is also situated amongst Australia’s UNESCO World Heritage Wet Tropics of Queensland.
The resort currently comprises 46 keys and a range of facilities including the renowned Buko Restaurant which has recently benefitted from expanded licensed area providing for unique event and F&B offerings. An incoming owner can utilise a range of investment strategies with the property benefitting from two Development Approvals in place, the first allowing an expansion of the resort by 44 keys which would enable a repositioning to put the property at the forefront of boutique resorts in Tropical North Queensland, thereby tapping into the unrelenting thirst for lifestyle assets whilst also providing high-yielding returns. The second DA allows a new 220-key high end resort to be built, with significant F&B offerings at a location that already benefits from high guest spending capture ratios.
Commenting on the sale, Adam Bury, Executive Vice President at JLL Hotels & Hospitality Group noted, “Northern Queensland has some of the Australia’s best beaches and most spectacular scenery, but such opportunities, that are held by one owner, with absolute beach frontage, are very rarely traded. We believe the resort, and the opportunity it presents, sits without comparison on the entire coastline from Cairns to Noosa. The property has been held by the current family ownership for over a decade, and we therefore truly believe this is a generational opportunity the acquire a one-off resort that will undoubtedly benefit from the Golden Decade we are to witness in Queensland off the back of the recently announced 2032 Olympics”.
Mr. Bury went on, “We have also seen a wholesale change in guest demands over recent years, with experiential experiences been key to successful hotel and resorts – Castaways Resort & Spa provides a truly unique opportunity to create a one-of-a-kind property located amongst some of the world’s best natural environments”.
With infrastructure investments into Queensland, including airport expansions at both Cairns and Brisbane, Queensland is expected to see a surge in tourism arrivals over the coming decade and their remains a depth of capital in the market seeking to benefit from this. Mission Beach is also benefitting from enhanced infrastructure, with a new marine facility providing greater accessibility than ever before to the reef and outer islands.
Adding his thoughts, Peter Harper, Managing Director and Head of Investment Sales Australasia said, “Regional tourism assets have seen a boom in performance since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, with travelers again recognising the significant offerings that Australia has to offer. We have seen a significant number of properties experience trading booms with the spike in domestic demand and expect these trends to accelerate as state and national borders open again, as well as for them to continue well beyond COVID-19 as travel trends change for the foreseeable future. We are excited about the interest that this opportunity will generate and expect a competitive bidding process”.
