China’s White Horse puts Lindeman Island on the block for $20m
Queensland’s tropical resort islands are being traded like chess pieces, with the abandoned Lindeman Island back on the market after squabbles involving Chinese owner.
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Queensland’s dilapidated resort islands are being traded like chess pieces with the Chinese cable TV owners of the abandoned Lindeman Island putting it on the market after ten years of squabbles about its redevelopment.
The marketing campaign to sell the island which once housed the Club Med resort comes as Sydney entrepreneur Terry Agnew has decided to redevelop Great Keppel Island himself after Gina Rinehart stepped away from her plans to buy it for $50m recently.
Meanwhile, the local representative of China-based firm White Horse, which purchased Lindeman Island around 2012, Michael Dawn, said in a statement that it was “with regret that after 10 years of ownership, White Horse has made the decision to divest Lindeman Island, despite having successfully completed the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) component of the redevelopment”.
The island had been subject to a masterplan redevelopment worth about $583m.
The masterplan incorporates a variety of four to six-star accommodation offerings, with 325 suites villas, suites and apartment, an eco-tourism education centre, restaurants, bars, beach club, nightclub, conference centre, arrival centre, retail shops, sport and recreation centre and a staff village.
“White Horse hopes that the new owner continues with its vision to redevelop this once great island resort and restore it to its former glory,” the statement said.
It is understood the Chinese want around $20m for Lindeman after paying $12m for it back in 2012.
CBRE Hotels’ Wayne Bunz and Hayley Manvell have been appointed to market the asset, one of 24 Queensland islands offering resort approvals.
On offer is a perpetual leasehold and four long-term leases over 136-ha, comprising the closed beachfront resort, golf course and air strip. The island also features 637 hectares of national park area with seven private beaches.
The listing follows a string of island sales, which have returned five major islands back to the hands of Australian investors over the past year.
These include last week’s sale of Dunk Island to Annie Cannon-Brookes, wife of Atlassian billionaire Mike Cannon-Brookes, the recent sale of Lizard Island to Tattarang and the sale of Long Island to Oscars Hotels. Hook Island was recently sold to Meridian Australia while Elysian Retreat Long Island was picked up by Shayne Smyth, founder of Perle Ventures and travel insurance group Cover-More.
Lindeman Island is located within the Whitsunday archipelago, approximately 15km from the Oatley family owned Hamilton Island. It can be accessed by boat – either via a 20-minute trip from Hamilton Island Airport or a 40-minute trip from Airlie Beach, with small charter aircraft and helicopters also able to land on the island’s airstrip.
“The Whitsunday Region has been one of the most resilient markets through the pandemic and was recently recognised as the world’s second most loved tourist destination in 2022 by the Tourism Sentiment Index, highlighting the region’s robust tourist market,” Mr Bunz said.
“Lindeman Island provides investors with the opportunity to redevelop the asset in line with other nearby successful luxury resorts, such as qualia Hamilton Island, to capitalise on strong domestic tourism demand and a resurgence in the international inbound market.”
CBRE Hotels’ Ms Manvell said Lindeman was a blank canvas for an incoming investor, allowing them to follow the masterplan developed by the existing owner White Horse Group or undertake a smaller scale luxury redevelopment.
The expression of interest campaign closes on August 25.
Originally published as China’s White Horse puts Lindeman Island on the block for $20m
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