Annie Cannon-Brookes snaps up Dunk Island for $24 million

Annie Cannon-Brookes, the wife of tech billionaire Mike Cannon-Brookes, has added to her vast property portfolio with the purchase of Dunk Island in Far North Queensland for $24 million with plans to rejuvenate the faded resort.

It is the first foray into the Great Barrier Reef region for the Cannon-Brookes’ who sit in third place on the AFR Rich List and own an extensive array of real estate in NSW including homes in Sydney’s upmarket eastern suburbs, Pittwater and six significant properties in the Southern Highlands.

Cannon-Brookes, known as the crusading anti-fossil fuel billionaire, is co-founder of the Atlassian tech empire and is also a part owner of the Utah Jazz basketball team.

Dunk Island resort in the Great Barrier Reef, Queensland has been sold for a reported $24 million.

A spokesperson for Annie Cannon-Brookes said: “Annie has purchased the land with the intent to preserve its natural beauty for years to come”.

The 147 ha freehold Dunk Island, which has been closed since early 2011 after being battered by Cyclone Yasi, has an existing 160-room hotel, a 9-hole golf course and a day spa. It sits 4 km off Mission Beach near Cairns.

The sale follows the November 2021 purchase by Andrew ‘Twiggy’ Forrest and his wife Nicola’s private investment company Tattarang of Lizard Island on the Great Barrier Reef for $42 million.

In May, burgeoning developer Glenn Piper paid around $10 million for the leasehold of Hook Island in the Whitsundays’ area where he plans to open an eco-lodge.

But amid these deals, many other Queensland island resorts sit empty and are in dire straits having been hit by bad weather and the global pandemic.

Billionaire Gina Rinehart was reported as being interested in the former popular hot spot of the 1980s Great Keppel Island, on the Capricorn Coast, but a deal did not eventuate. The Queensland government is hoping the fortunes for the assets will change as the entire state gears up to host the 2032 Brisbane Olympics.

The sale to Cannon-Brookes is the third time lucky for the Dunk Island owner Linc Energy founder Peter Bond, who had a deal to sell it to entrepreneur James Mawhinney in 2020 for a reported $31 million. But Mawhinney’s Mayfair 101 group was placed into provisional liquidation and the transaction was scrapped.

Then in July last year amid the global pandemic, another deal fell through when the private equity fund Upsense Media Capital, co-founded by Mark Spillane and RJ Bucaria made an offer of around $25 million, but failed to get financing.

As the last resort, the Bond family appointed JLL hotels and hospitality group’s Andrew Langsford and Nick Roche, together with Tom Gibson from CBRE Hotels earlier this year.

JLL hotels senior vice president Langsford said the sale “reinforces the appeal of investment in coastal locations and the sentiment that leisure travel across Australia is poised for continued growth”.

Gibson added that while there is a rise in domestic guest demand in regional locations, he expects a surge of international travellers to visit Australia as air travel returns to full capacity.

“Given the history of this special asset, this is a very significant transaction for both Mission Beach and the greater Queensland tourism market.” Gibson, a director of CBRE Hotels said.

New data compiled by Colliers head of hotels Gus Moors said while staff shortages weigh on individual businesses, the trading markets for the sector are recovering much faster than everyone’s previous expectations.