Luna Park back in local hands as Oscars Group swoops
The sale by Canadian giant Brookfield puts the Sydney fun park under local control and the buyers have big plans to revitalise the faded icon.
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Sydney Harbour’s Luna Park has been snapped up by the pub and hotel owning Oscars Group, with the low-profile company planning to revitalise the ageing fun park with a series of new harbourside restaurants and bars.
From its traditional pub owning base, Oscars has expanded into leisure hotels and island resorts around the country as it backs a recovery in tourism and leisure despite the present cost-of-living squeeze.
The fun park on Sydney Harbour was put on the block in June by Canadian giant Brookfield which had owned the site since buying Australian construction company Multiplex in 2007.
The sale had been tipped to reap Brookfield up to $70m and went for a price in the mid-$50m range after attracting an array of billionaire trophy hunters, US and European entertainment companies, and property investors.
Getting it back in the hands of a cashed up local player who knows the city’s leisure market will allow for an overhaul that could see it entertain more families during the day and rival new entertainment precincts at Barangaroo and Circular Quay as well the famed Merivale venues owned by billionaire Justin Hemmes.
The pub-owning Gravanis brothers, Bill and Mario, who started Oscars Hotel Group in the 1980s, have amassed more than 30 hotels stretching from small suburban pubs, to larger hospitality assets such as the Novotel Wollongong and Brighton Beach closer to the Sydney CBD, as well as several properties on the NSW Central Coast.
Oscars Group Managing Director Bill Gravanis said Luna Park offered outstanding investment fundamentals, strong brand value and recognition.
He said the company was excited to be acquiring Luna Park and looked forward to working with its management.
“It is an iconic waterfront landmark on the best harbour in the world that presents a great opportunity for the Oscars business. Our goal is to further establish Luna Park as a Top 5 tourist destination for visitors, whilst also promoting it as an entertainment precinct for Sydneysiders,” he said.
CBRE’s Simon Rooney, Paul Ryan and James Douglas negotiated the sale, which was subject to consent by the Luna Park Reserve Trust for the change of control of Luna Park Sydney from Brookfield to the Oscars Group to ensure that Luna Park remains a vibrant and successful amusement park.
Mr Rooney said that trophy assets such as Luna Park were tightly held and rarely traded, which had spurred strong local and offshore buyer interest.
“The Luna Park business was a sought-after investment given its unique location on the shores of Sydney Harbour. The diverse opportunities to leverage the existing assets and customer base to drive revenue growth via additional amusement, immersive and food and beverage initiatives were key drawcards for domestic and global buyers seeking value-add investment opportunities,” Mr Rooney said.
Luna Park chief executive John Hughes said that as Luna Park Sydney entered its 90th year it had “exceptional momentum in the business generating record ticket sales and visitation”. “We’re excited about this next chapter, and the opportunities that Oscars Group ownership will bring to the park,” he said.
He flagged new attractions including the world-premiere of the Vegesaurs experience as well as its famed NYE festival and the launch of the heritage-listed Wild Mouse roller coaster following its two-year restoration.
Luna Park Sydney has 17 amusement rides, the heritage-listed Coney Island, 7,000sqm of building floorspace including Sydney’s Immersive Big Top and the 1935-built Crystal Palace as well as a 389-space car park.
Oscars has been expanding and recently they have bought big ticket properties like the Crowne Plaza Surfers Paradise, which was their first move into Queensland’s booming Gold Coast, where they paid around $100m. Another of their larger plays was the purchase of Far North Queensland’s Long Island in 2021 which they are turning into a luxury resort.
A revamp could mean the park again becomes an attraction for local and international tourists to Sydney, as well as introducing a new player to the amusement park scene.
Melbourne’s Luna Park has long been owned by trucking billionaire Lindsay Fox and Queensland’s Dreamworld is held by the listed Coast Entertainment Holdings, chaired by corporate figure Gary Weiss.
The park has been the site of a series of planning battles and political controversies over the decades and could be further overhauled by Oscars in future if it spends money to update the ageing facilities and rides. Surrounding neighbours have long been concerned about excessive noise levels.
The venue is owned by the NSW government agency Luna Park Reserve Trust and Brookfield has a lease on the park that runs until 2044. Oscars could in future seek to renegotiate the lease in return for freshening up the amusement park and putting in new facilities.
Luna Park must remain an amusement facility with no changes to allow for residential development, under NSW law.
Despite the restriction, the park could be revamped with new rides, eateries and conferences facilities by a new theme park operator.
Brookfield had already poured millions into revamping the park in recent years. It put $30m into nine rides in 2021 and spent about $15m on the Big Top to make it into an immersive complex.
In 2018, the NSW government agreed to Brookfield’s demands to remove planning controls to allow it to erect rides at the park, some permanently fixed and up to 12-storeys tall, without having to seek development approval.
That came months after the NSW government defeated Brookfield in a court case in which it sought that freedom from standard planning procedures.
The park’s latest accounts show that it generated a net loss after tax of $579,820 in 2023, which accounted for financing costs and payments to lender Metrics Credit Partners.
But it made a gross profit of about $8.36m on revenue of about $56.85m and buyers were expected to see the site as an opportunity to put their own stamp on the iconic Sydney Harbour venue.
Theme parks have been running hot. Melbourne-based BGH Group in 2020 made a $586m takeover of Village Roadshow cinemas, studios and theme parks, taking on Gold Coast properties Warner Bros. Movie World, Sea World and Wet’n’Wild.
Originally published as Luna Park back in local hands as Oscars Group swoops
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