Computershare founder Chris Morris battles Sam Arnaout for Cairns casino

Two tourism entrepreneurs are competing to buy Cairns’ largest tourism assets in a deal valued at more than $200m.

Two billionaires are locked in battle for the casino on the Gold Coast.

Gaming and tourism entrepreneurs Chris Morris and Sam Arnaout are locked in a battle to acquire one of Cairns’s largest tourism assets, the Reef Hotel Casino, with both pledging to pay more than $200m for the hotel and casino asset.

Following a report in The Australian on Tuesday, the Reef Casino Trust has issued a statement to the ASX, confirming that the board of the trust, whose major shareholders include Casinos Austria and hotel group Accor, had received proposals from Mr Morris’s Morris Group for the potential acquisition of the Reef Hotel Casino.

Mr Arnaout’s Iris Group is also still in the running for the property, having entered a four-week due diligence period in February to acquire the casino and associated Pullman-branded 128-room hotel on the casino site. He did not return The Australian’s call on Tuesday.

“Reef Corporate Services Ltd (RCSL) confirms that, as at the date of this announcement, the board of RCSL is in ongoing and incomplete negotiations with both Iris and Morris Group in relation to indicative, non-binding and highly conditional proposals to acquire 100 per cent of the units in RCT that it has received from each of them,” according to the statement lodged with the ASX.

It is uncertain whether a transaction will take place, but it requires shareholder approval, according to the RCSL statement.

RCSL confirmed the media speculation in The Australian that the proposals are in excess of $200m for all the component parts of the transaction, including the casino and the hotel.

“However, whilst price and value allocation remain under negotiation, RCSL also confirms that the value allocated to the units in RCT under both Proposals is less than A$200m.”

Mr Morris, the co-founder of Computershare and now one of the nation’s wealthiest tourism barons, owns Queensland’s Mount Mulligan, as well as the Orpheus Island Lodge – where $100,000 buys out the entire island for 3 nights.

He also owns Pelorus Island, helicopters and superyachts in Far North Queensland, a deluxe casino as well as Townsville’s first 5-star hotel, a Mediterranean superyacht that rents for $400,000 a week, as well as several superyachts in the far north Queensland leisure port of Port Douglas, and, his own private jet.

Hayley and Chris Morris. Picture: Aaron Francis

Mr Morris is understood to have just completed a four-week due diligence period over the casino and Accor-managed Pullman Reef Hotel Casino in Wharf St in Cairns, which sources say he covets because of its synergies with his Townsville casino operations.

Mr Morris declined to comment to The Australian on Tuesday, but multiple sources said the deal to acquire the casino and hotel is close, and the entrepreneur is merely fine-tuning the negotiations.

The Cairns casino, held within the ASX-listed Reef Casino Trust, is fairly profitable even though it needs some renovation work.

The market capitalisation of the Reef Casino Trust is $146m and according to the Reef Casino Trust’s recently lodged 2024 financial statements, visitation levels have still not recovered to pre-pandemic levels.

However, in 2024 the casino’s visitation was up 1.5 per cent, boosted by domestic visitation as the Chinese mainlander tourist market remained subdued. Electronic gaming was up 3.2 per cent, but table gaming was down 8.3 per cent due to fewer premium players visiting.

On the hotel side revenue rose four per cent, boosted by strong bookings from inter and intra state visitors, while food and beverage was up 5.5 per cent buoyed by events.

The casino is jointly operated by Casinos Austria International Ltd and Accor Casino Investments (Australia) Ltd. Accor also manages the Pullman-branded 128-room hotel on the casino site.

The Pullman Reef Hotel Casino in Cairns which is seeing an improvement in visitation and food and beverage according to the latest financial results.

The last time the Reef Casino Trust was the subject of a takeover bid was in 2013, by the Fung family behind the failed $8bn Aquis resort and casino at Yorkey’s Knob. Billionaire Tony Fung and his family later bought the Canberra casino. It has since been acquired by Mr Arnaout for $63m in 2022.

Mr Arnaout is a significant residential developer and pub owner.

Reef Casino Trust board member Adrian Williams, who is also Accor Pacific chief operating officer, declined to comment.

Originally published as Computershare founder Chris Morris battles Sam Arnaout for Cairns casino