Doug Gamble, an Darwin-based property developer, is selling Fitzroy Island Resort in Queensland as he plans to retire.
Gamble purchased the resort six years ago for an estimated $8 million after it went into receivership following the financial collapse of its owner, Sunshine Coast developer Joshua Hunt. Since then, Gamble has invested millions in it. He is now seeking buyers for the hotel, which he hopes to sell for $30 million.
Resort Brokers Australia will put the tourism business, perpetual leasehold and associated development opportunities on the market in a six-week expressions-of-interest campaign starting on Monday.
The assets include the 102-room resort hotel, food and beverage outlets, conference and wedding venues, leisure facilities, a dive shop (leased to an outside operator), a general store, mooring facilities and a 190-seat high-speed catamaran ferry service, the Fitzroy Flyer. The resort is being sold with development approvals and plans for future stages.
“We can expect substantial interest from both local and international buyers, including large hotel operators and investors,” Resort Brokers Australia national sales manager Trudy Crooks said, adding that income was likely to exceed $2.7 million in the current financial year.
Australia is in the middle of a tourism boom, and the North of the country has reported $230 million of hotel and resorts sales over the past 18 months.