Australia's Schwartz Family Co. buys Hilton Surfers Paradise

Australia's Schwartz Family Co., reportedly one of the country’s largest private hotel investors, has acquired the Hilton Surfers Paradise from China's Ja Feng group for an estimated $70 million.

The deal is the company's first property in Queensland and 14th hotel in the country. The majority of these are in New South Wales, and include the Sofitel Sydney Darling Harbour.

The seven-year-old hotel has 169 guestrooms, four restaurants and bars, a spa, extensive conference and function facilities, four pools, an outdoor deck area and parking.

The deal, expected to close in May, also includes management rights for 220 Hilton residences.

“I believe there is enormous potential for growing the hotel’s business,” said company co-founder Jerry Schwartz. “The Gold Coast is ideally positioned to take advantage of the boom in international travel from Asia and the Pacific, and with Gold Coast and Brisbane international airports expanding their range of source markets, I thought it was the ideal time to enter the market."

Brookfield put the property on the market in early 2015 for $60 million, eventually selling to "a private Chinese-Australian family" for more than $50 million by the middle of that year. The current profit of $20 million suggests the market's growth over four years. It's worth noting, however, that when the property returned to the market in July, it was originally listed for $80 million.