As Singapore’s Banyan Tree Hotels and Hong Kong’s Ovolo Group scour Australia for hotels and serviced apartment development sites, local investors are heading across the Tasman to New Zealand — declaring real estate on South Island has more value than any Aussie offering.
Melbourne-based investor Andrew Cox has just added to his boutique hotel collection, buying the 10-suite The Spire Hotel, near the award-winning Eichardt’s Private Hotel, in sub-alpine Queenstown and The Residences, a three-bedroom house renting for up to $NZ2500 a night in peak season, which he has owned for several years.
“Australia is too expensive, it costs too much money to develop,’’ said Mr Cox yesterday. “There are more opportunities coming up in New Zealand,’’ he said. “I would look at buying in Australia but ultimately I want to buy and enhance the value rather than pay a vendor a whole lot of money.’’
New Zealand’s plethora of luxury boutique hotels are typically owned by the very wealthy. But Mr Cox, who heads the Imperium Group, says his luxury hotel businesses must make money, adding that it is difficult to turn a profit given the small size of the product offering.
Fresh from the acquisition of The Spire Hotel, which overlooks Lake Wakatipu, Mr Cox is also looking to open a boutique hotel in Auckland.
“Auckland is a primary focus, now that we have two luxury downtown hotels in Queenstown. Ideally we are looking for a waterfront property in Auckland’s CBD, similar to the Eichardt’s experience in the tightly held Auckland waterfront area.”
Mr Cox would not divulge the acquisition price of The Spire, which he bought from two sisters, Lucy and Amelia Gains.
Mr Cox, who operates a diversified investment group of businesses in Australia and New Zealand, also owns Australian Graphic Supplies — one of Australia’s largest import distributors of graphics.