15 May 2025
Words
Clare Burnett The Urban Developer
Minor Hotels Acquires Rights to Queen’s Wharf Residences
The management rights for the Queen’s Wharf Residences tower have been sold to global hospitality giant Minor Hotels in a deal expected to be worth more than $17 million.
Hong Kong-based partners Far East Consortium and Chow Tai Fook Enterprises finalised the sale of the management rights of the 667-apartment residences at the Queen’s Wharf precinct this week.
The transaction, managed by ResortBrokers, exceeds the $85,000 per-key record for the management rights of a short-term apartment complex set by its 2019 sale of Signature Broadbeach.
The letting pool currently stands at 199 short-term and eight permanent apartments, ResortBrokers said.
Given the number of buyers identified as investors, this could potentially grow to 433 apartments over the next 12 to 24 months, meaning the deal is worth north of $17 million.
Of the total 667 units, 93 per cent were settled in the first four weeks, including 321 on the first day of settlements. This is believed to be one of the highest volumes achieved in Australia. Of those, 638 apartments have now settled.
ResortBrokers director Tim Crooks said the strong sales were a testament to the demand for premium assets with integrated lifestyle amenity.
“It’s the only building in Brisbane directly connected to the $3.6-billion Queen’s Wharf integrated resort development, so a lot of owners sign up to be in that precinct,” Crooks said.
“It was always going to be supported for a myriad of different reasons—it’s well received by young professionals because it’s near 1 William Street and the wider CBD, and even wealthy students attending the universities, and it’s architecturally really special.”
Residents have moved into the 65-storey Queen’s Wharf Residences where the owner mix is around 65 per cent investor and 35 per cent owner-occupied.
Nine expressions of interest were received before Minor Hotels, a subsidiary of Minor International, secured the deal.
“Far East Consortium and Chow Tai Fook Enterprises knew that Minor Hotels would invest in the quality of their offering, their staff, and set the tone with their level of service as one of the top five biggest hotel owners in the world, replicating that hotel experience in a residential setting,” Crooks said.
“They are able to do far more in terms of providing a higher level of service and for longer hours because they need to be there for their guest experience, and they invest in those relationships with owner occupiers, to create harmonious communities of residential mixed use.
“They know that today's occupier could be tomorrow's investor, and have that long-term outlook.”
Minor Hotels also secured the management rights because it was willing to run a white-label operation for the residential tower.
“A lot of hotel companies wanted to brand the asset, and we were firm in that it shouldn’t be a branded asset, that Queen’s Wharf Residences was strong enough,” Crooks said.
The wider Queen’s Wharf development has had a rollercoaster of a development process, with one of its developers, casino operator The Star Entertainment Group facing ongoing financial and legal drama.
Far East Consortium and Chow Tai Fook Enterprises earlier this year acquired the entertainment precinct section of Queen’s Wharf, The Star Brisbane, for $53 million.
The terminal decline of The Star Entertainment Group's financial state, however, resulted in it being acquired by US gambling giant Bally’s in April.
The Star currently has no ownership interest in Queen’s Wharf, but has agreed to continue the management of the casino until at least June 2026, or until the Queensland government decides to suspend its operations.
Far East Consortium and Chow Tai Fook Enterprises were also forced to rethink pricing for its other residential project within the Queen’s Wharf precinct, Queen’s Tower, cancelling contracts for the 800-unit development.
In 2022, 90 per cent of the apartments were sold, ranging from $585,000 to $6.7 million. But the consortium sought a 12.5 per cent price increase on the apartments due to “unheralded cost increases and [issues with] supply chains”. END
