Oscar Hotel Group to buy Long Island in the Whitsundays armed with redevelopment plans

A Sydney hotel group has snapped up an iconic Whitsundays island resort as Australian buyers eye more Queensland tourism gems.

Sydney-based Oscars Hotel Group will pay close to $20m to purchase Long Island in the Whitsundays.

The hospitality group, founded in 1986, is owned and operated by brothers Bill and Mario Gravanis who started the company with the acquisition of a single pub in Sydney’s Inner West.

Oscars is now one of the largest hospitality groups in NSW with more than 30 venues, including Novotel Sydney Brighton Beach and Holiday Inn at Warwick Farm.

The company would not comment on the acquisition, which would be Oscars first in Queensland.

“We push the boundaries and plate up an exclusive and memorable experience in each of our venues,” the company said on its website.

CBRE Hotels’ Hayley Manvell and Wayne Bunz struck the deal after an expressions of interest campaign and the Oscars Hotel Group is expected to embark on a major redevelopment of the island into an up-market resort.

Long Island, between Hamilton Island and Airlie Beach, was sold by Sydney-based David Kingston, a former managing director of Rothschild Bank.

The island has long been on the market with its resort facilities closed since a 2016 cyclone.

Ms Manvell said the Whitsundays has been a beneficiary of a rebound in domestic tourism, a trend which will become stronger in the future.

“The level of inquiry we are seeing for regional and leisure assets right now is at unprecedented levels,” she said.

“It’s also particularly encouraging to see domestic capital shifting out of their key markets, predominantly Melbourne and Sydney, and into other destinations they may not have had interest in.”

The resort on Long Island was damaged in a 2016 cyclone.

The sale comes as the Chinese owners of Daydream Island have put feelers out for a buyer for one of Queensland’s most iconic resorts.

The China Capital Investment Group bought Daydream Island in 2015 after then owner Vaughan Bullivant dropped his asking price from $65m to $30m.

They have spent least $100m refurbishing it, and industry sources say they are looking to sell the island for between $140m and $150m. It is understood CCIG is preparing to formally take it to the market.

CBRE Capital Markets, Hotels director Tom Gibson refused to comment on the future of Daydream Island however he said it was a “unique time” in the industry.

He said with the continued international border closures, the resort islands are being pursued by domestic investors seeking escape-style investments that are pandemic-resilient.

Last year hospitality Sydney-based baron empire-builder Justin Hemmes and Caledonia chairman Mark Nelson bought a large slice of the exclusive Haggerstone Island.

It is also understood the sale of Dunk Island was nearing completion to an Australian buyer while the campaigns to sell Keppel Island and Pumpkin Island have largely caught the attention of locals.

Mr Gibson said Queensland island resorts also have a long history of attracting offshore investors given their raw beauty and appeal to international tourists.

Other islands in foreign hands include Lizard Island, Heron Island, Wilson Island, Hayman Island, Lindeman Island and South Molle Island.

“Australia has also always been regarded as an investment safe-haven given our macro-economic stability, though has been amplified more recently through our positive handling of COVID,” he said.

Mr Gibson said there were record amounts of domestic and offshore capital looking to be invested, though there are limited hotel deals available to pursue as owners have been supported through government incentives such as JobKeeper and bank grace periods during the pandemic.

“The dislocation for deal availability has been attributed to owners reverting back to their core businesses — often non-hotel related,” he said.

Originally published as Oscar Hotel Group to buy Long Island in the Whitsundays armed with redevelopment plans