15 May 2025
Words Larry Schlesinger Green Street News

Thai hotel giant snaps up Queen's Wharf management rights in record deal

Bangkok-listed hospitality giant Minor Hotels has secured the management rights to the residential skyscraper within the $3.6bn Queen’s Wharf resort in Brisbane, paying a record price per key, Green Street News can reveal.

Minor has agreed to pay more than $85,000/key for the 25-year letting and caretaking rights to the 65-storey Queen’s Wharf Residences tower, which has 667 apartments.

This exceeds the previous highest per-key rate of around $85,000 paid in 2019 for the management rights to billionaire Paul Little’s Gold Coast high-rise Signature Broadbeach by timeshare operator Ultiqa, according to management rights specialist ResortBrokers, which brokered both deals.

Minor Hotels is a subsidiary of global hospitality group Minor International founded in 1967 by William Heinecke. Bangkok-listed Minor operates over 560 hotels and resorts, 2,669 restaurants and 267 retail outlets. Its hotel brands include Anantara, Avani, NH Hotels and Oaks.

To date, Minor has secured agreements with over 200 Queen’s Wharf Residence investors, valuing the deal at over $17m. However, the size of the deal is expected to grow as more apartments enter the letting pool.

Investors make up two-thirds of buyers in what is the tallest building within the integrated resort overlooking the Brisbane River. This means there is a potential letting pool of between 350 and 450 apartments.

The management rights to Queen’s Wharf Residences are the largest ever to come to market for an apartment complex in Brisbane’s CBD.

Management rights specialist ResortBrokers, led by directors Tim Crooks and Alex Cook and broker Jessie Shi, acted for the vendors, Far East Consortium and Chow Tai Fook Enterprises. The trio sealed the deal ahead of the settling of apartments and the official opening of Queen’s Wharf Residences.

Since the deal with Minor was sealed, 638 out of 667 apartments have settled, including 321 on the first day of settlements.

“Queen’s Wharf Residences is one of the most prestigious opportunities ever to come to market in Brisbane. Its direct connection to the integrated resort, elevated amenity and landmark architecture made this a highly competitive transaction – and Minor is ideally positioned to deliver the level of service residents and guests expect,” Crooks said.

Alongside letting and caretaker rights, Minor will be able to operate a check-in desk for short-stay guests on level 4 and a concierge service for long-term residents on the ground floor.

The deal effectively gives Minor Hotels the ability to operate a luxury serviced apartment hotel within Queen’s Wharf. The entertainment and hospitality precinct, the largest private construction project ever undertaken in Queensland, spans four city blocks of prime river frontage from Alice to Queen Streets and is directly linked to South Bank via a pedestrian bridge.

It includes a casino, four luxury hotels, restaurants and shops at the southwestern end of the Brisbane CBD. Brisbane will host the 2032 Olympic Games.

In March, ASX-listed Star Entertainment agreed to sell its 50% stake in the Queen’s Wharf resort to Chow Tai Fook Enterprises and Far East Consortium to stave off collapse. END