Resort Sale To Help Gpt Out Of Red
The Age
Tuesday September 16, 2008
A CONSORTIUM formed by Grant Samuel Corporate Finance, three Aboriginal communities and a former property manager has emerged as a possible buyer of GPT's $439 million Ayers Rock Resort at Uluru.
The deal is contingent on GPT agreeing to sell the assets individually and not as part of the $900 million hotel and resort portfolio it has on the market.Grant Samuel & Associates, Wana Ungkunytja and Wayne Kirkpatrick, the former manager of the resort, said yesterday they were looking to assemble a group of investors to bid for the Ayers Rock Resort.Wana Ungkunytja represents the Aboriginal communities of Mutitjulu, Imanpa and Kaltukatjara from the region surrounding Uluru.Mr Kirkpatrick said: "Uluru (Ayers Rock) and KataTjuta (the Olgas) are iconic attractions for international tourists to Australia. We are optimistic that investors can be assembled to join a consortium which will capitalise on this great asset."In the mid-1990s, Mr Kirkpatrick ran the then unloved Ayers Rock Resort before leaving to work the same turnaround magic on Hamilton Island, which was bought by billionaire businessman Bob Oatley in 2003. He left there two years later and is a director of Tourism Australia.GPT's portfolio of hotels and resorts includes landmark properties such as the Voyages Lodges' portfolio of eco resorts, as well as Bedarra, Lizard and Heron islands in Queensland. It also owns the Cradle Mountain Lodge in Tasmania, Wrotham Park in north Queensland, and El Questro in Western Australia.Ayers Rock Resort is valued by GPT at $438.9 million. The resort has a range of tourist accommodation, from deluxe hotel rooms to camping grounds.GPT is selling the assets as part of the consolidation of its operations and to raise cash to help shore up its balance sheet.At the end of August, GPT's chief executive Nic Lyons reported a loss of $68 million for the first half of calendar 2008, compared with a net profit of $737million last year.Mr Lyons attributed the decline to a $222 million asset write-down and a $122 million goodwill write-off courtesy of its Europe-based Halverton unit.GPT's first-half operating income fell 21% to $234million, from $297million in the previous corresponding period.KEY POINTS? A consortium is preparing a bid for Ayers Rock Resort.? The group includes a former manager of the resort.? GPT is selling assets to shore up its balance sheet.
© 2008 The Age
