Mulpha Australia ‘active’ in pursuit of projects

Fresh from the $135m redevelopment of Hayman Island, Mulpha Australia is looking to buy more real estate.

Mulpha chief Greg Shaw. Picture: Hollie Adams.

Fresh from the $135 million redevelopment of Hayman Island, Malaysian conglomerate Mulpha Australia is looking to buy more Australian and New Zealand real estate as well as embarking on at least two redevelopments of its existing local properties.

“We are actively looking to ­acquire other resorts and hotel properties. We are looking actively in Australia and New Zealand,” Mulpha Australia chief executive Greg Shaw told The Australian.

Apart from the redevelopments of hotel properties it owns in Sydney and Auckland, Mulpha also recently sold its Rydges-branded hotel in Cairns for $65m to a company controlled by ­Chinese-born oil boss Zhenxiang Huo, head of petrochemical giant Huo Group.

Mulpha bought the 242-room hotel, which it had fully renovated, for $42.3m in 2016.

In Auckland, Mulpha was about to start work adding another 72 rooms to its 165-room Waldorf Stadium Apartment Hotel, bringing the property up to about 240 rooms, Mr Shaw said. Mulpha bought the Waldorf Stadium Apartment last year from the family of the late Abacus Property Group managing director Frank Wolf for a rumoured price of at least $45m.

In Sydney, Mr Shaw is also close to starting work on the $175m redevelopment of the landmark InterContinental Hotel in Bridge Street, adding that under his long-held plans a 1000-seat ballroom will be established with views over Sydney Harbour and the Heads.

Meanwhile in Queensland, Hayman Island officially opened recently to stunning reviews.

Mulpha used its own building company and contractors from Townsville, Mackay and Airlie Beach to re-landscape and rebuild the island, which was devastated in 2017 by Cyclone Debbie. Mr Shaw would not comment on whether he would look to sell Hayman Island, which the Malaysian conglomerate has owned since 2004, now that it was fully ­operational.

“I think Hayman Island is going well. We will optimise performance, we are seeing a lot of interest from the domestic market and very significant demand from the European and US market,” Mr Shaw said.

“The feedback on the product has been exceptional. The traditional Hayman Island is very much an Australian destination with the investment and the InterContinental Hotel Group (management) brand.

“IHG have global reach, we think it is a world-class product and will really resonate with the global luxury traveller.”

Mr Shaw is looking to sell some of the private residences on Hayman Island, with at least four on the market for more than $10m apiece.

“We would like to be involved in the house and land, we don’t want to sell the lots without controlling the built form,” he said.

The writer was a guest at Hayman Island courtesy of Mulpha and IHG.