11 Apr 2016
Words Gold Coast Bulletin

Ramada Rights on Market

The Anthony Moreton and Pryde groups are selling management rights to the Ramada Hope Harbour Hotel, along with 48 suites and a swag of hotel infrastructure. The groups are associated with Tony Hazell, founder and chief executive of Anthony Moreton Group, and businessman Warren Pryde. 

The move is in the wake of a $2.5 million refurbishment of the four star property which, in tandem with the Ramada branding, has been followed by a rise in occupancy levels. The management rights are being sold with a new 25 year lease and with a body corporate salary of $107,645 a year. The Anthony Moreton and Pryde groups bought the marina-front hotel holding for $3.27 million in 2013 from a John Fish company. The following year, the Moreton-Pryde team bought the Fish-linked Marina Quays Tavern for $6 million, selling it earlier this year for $10.2 million after securing Coles as operator on a long-term lease. Coles has renamed it Hope Island Tavern. Also, in 2014, the Moreton-Pryde partnership bought Mr Fish's The beach Hotel at Broadbeach for $7.45 million. It has demolished the property and is building The Beach apartment tower, with the management rights already sold to a Thai hotel group for a figure believed to be well in excess of the cost of the land. The 99 room Hope Harbour hotel was developed by builder Bob Hill jointly with former merchant banker Mark IcIvor, and much of it subsequently was sold to a company linked to a John Fish entity, Rothmont Projects.

Resort Brokers' Alex Cook, who is marketing the management rights in tandem with colleague Trudy Crooks, yesterday said that the Ramada branding had been a huge positive for the hotel. "It is trading ahead of predictions, with occupancy levels sitting around 77 per cent and still rising." Mr Cook said 70 of the property's rooms were under management, leaving a new manager the chance to build the business by bringing more rooms into the management pool. "The strata-title nature of the hotel rooms means there's also scopeto sell down some of the units, which previously have changed hands for $150,000 or thereabouts." They include function and conference rooms, a restaurant, a gymnasium, and two retail tenancies.

An expressions of interest campaign for the hotel rights closes April 29.