Star puts Treasury Casino and Hotel buildings in Brisbane on the block again

The struggling gaming company is hoping for about $200m for the iconic properties, as it kick offs a new sales process.

The Star is trying to selling the Treasury Casino and Hotel buildings in Brisbane.

Star Entertainment has kicked off a new sales process for its Treasury Casino and Hotel buildings in Brisbane with hopes of reaping $200m as the embattled gaming company attempts to stabilise its operations.

The move comes after its second rescue capital raising and, on the property side, Charter Hall in June backing out of a long-term deal to buy the site.

Star has suffered a series of setbacks, including pushing back the opening date for the $3.6bn Queen’s Wharf to next year and hefty fines for breaches of gaming rules and money laundering.

Charter Hall had unveiled a $248m deal to buy the heritage listed Casino and Treasury Hotel buildings and the Queen’s Gardens Car Park on George St in the Brisbane CBD in a partial leaseback deal.

It was due to settle in the first half of 2023 but was dependent on a number of conditions which Charter Hall said were not satisfied.

Now, McVay Real Estate and JLL have been tapped to sell the buildings via an expression of interest campaign.

Star’s interest in the Treasury Casino building, the Treasury Hotel building and the Treasury Car Park span two city blocks and will be offered either in one line or individually.

When Star and its consortium partners open the new casino at the Queen’s Wharf precinct, there will be the opportunity for a buyer to have vacant possession of the buildings.

The Treasury Buildings, span over 30,000sq m and have 680 car parks, offer the chance for multiple potential future uses, including but not limited to hotel, education, retail, entertainment and commercial.

The Treasury Casino building is a heritage-listed, former government public administration building that was built over three stages, commencing in 1883. The Treasury Hotel building is situated in the former Land Administration Building, which was completed in 1905 for the Queensland government.

Brisbane is undergoing an unprecedented level of infrastructure development in the countdown to the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

McVay Real Estate’s Sam McVay said the combination of Treasury Brisbane’s historical significance, character aesthetic and location adjoining the Queen’s Wharf precinct, made it an exceptional opportunity.

JLL’s Paul Noonan said Brisbane was benefiting from an immense public and private infrastructure push in the lead up to the Olympics.