Sale puts Quays in management rights super league

BIGGERA WATERS apartment complexes Harbour Quays and East Quays have joined the super league of Gold Coast management rights, with their caretaking and letting businesses and associated real estate selling in one line for close to $13 million.

A syndicate of 10 local investors has bought the 363-unit Harbour Quays and 300-unit East Quays management rights portfolio in an off-market deal secured by Resort Brokers Australia for developer Emandar Group.

Agent Alex Cook confirmed earlier reports that the sale price for the 10-building operation was in the $12 – $13 million range, including seven apartments and eight offices.

“With 663 apartments in 10 buildings across the two adjacent projects, and 450 currently in the letting pool, this constitutes one of the biggest permanent residential management rights sales on the Gold Coast,” Mr Cook said.

The deal, which settled on Friday (August 11, 2017), is the second largest permanent management rights transaction on the Gold Coast in terms of unit numbers.

But, with its larger real estate component, the sale price easily eclipses the $10.5 million believed to have been paid by Mantra Group for the 788-unit Southport Central buildings.

Emandar established and retained the management rights as they developed Harbour Quays and East Quays progressively since 2012, selling out the first six-building project by mid-2014 and the final four-stage complex by late last year.

“Each of the six buildings in Harbour Quays is a separate scheme, so the sale included a manager’s unit and office on title in each,” Mr Cook said.  “East Quays, although four buildings, is covered by a single scheme, with the buyers taking one unit and two offices.”

The consortium of private investors is led by James and Sandra Stapelberg, who will be the Harbour Quays and East Quays onsite managers, supported by Garry McKenzie in a purely administrative role.

The Stapelbergs are long-time Gold Coast resident managers, while Mr McKenzie has been involved in the management rights industry here since the mid-1980s.

“The business is established and operational, with both complexes fully tenanted, delivering a attractive net profit of circa $1.5 million, so it attracted very keen interest from a number of parties,” Mr Cook said.

“Emandar, who opted to retain the rights during the establishment stage after project completion, selected these operators based not solely on price, but particularly on their excellent track record for quality property management,” he said.

“Struck at a multiplier in the six-plus range, it demonstrates the ongoing strength of the Gold Coast management rights market, especially for large-scale, high-netting properties.”

Mr McKenzie said the extent of real estate included in the deal was seen by the syndicate as providing an opportunity to improve convenience and amenity for residents and tenants.

“It adds security and stability, allowing us to deploy management and operational staff where they are most effective across the sites,” he said.

“We also plan to use some of these spaces to introduce new onsite facilities, perhaps a café or coffee kiosk, real estate office, and a concierge-style cleaning and maintenance outlet where residents can easily book anything from housekeeping to car detailing.”

Mr Cook said the Harbour Quays and East Quays sale shared the spotlight with other super-league management rights deals in a market where the focus is more frequently on short-term resort-style properties.

Resort Brokers and Mr Cook have also been behind some of the biggest deals in the holiday category, including Soul Surfers Paradise, and Beach Haven and The Beach Apartments at Broadbeach.

These highly-competitive bids have been won, in the main, by high-profile listed resort companies, including Mantra Group and Thailand’s Minor International.

The Harbour Quays / East Quays sale comes on the back of other recent large-scale permanent management rights sales including the 263-unit Waterford Apartments complex developed by Matthews Property at Bundall, also handled by Mr Cook.

“While the sale price is confidential, Waterford was also bought by a group of private investors, demonstrating the purchasing power of syndicates and partnerships,” he said.

“Mum and dad investors are able to pool their resources to buy high quality, high-netting assets such as these.”