The Gold Coast Sheraton Mirage is up for sale, amid suggestions the beachfront resort will change hands for more than $170 million.
Owners Pearls Australasia have put the 296-room property on the market after weeks of off-market inquiry for the five-star hotel and 5ha site.
Renovated at a cost of $30m over the last three years, the hotel is managed by Starwood with a contract until 2022.
The site — which is on The Spit at the northern end of Surfers Paradise — is also being touted as a future development site.
The resort has had a tumultuous history since opening to grand fanfare by infamous developer the late Christopher Skase in 1987. In 2009 Pearls Australasia bought the site for $62.5m from receivers, after the Raptis Group fell into receivership in 2008. They had paid $82m to buy the trophy development from failed funds-management group MFS and the Ray Group in 2005.
It coincides with founder of the India-based conglomerate, Pearls Group managing director Nirmal Singh Bhangoo, facing criminal proceedings over an alleged pyramid scheme.
A subsidiary of Pearls Group, Pearls Infrastructure Projects, is a shareholder in the Australian company.
The Times of India reported India’s Central Bureau of Investigation registered a criminal conspiracy and cheating case against Mr Bhangoo and the companies Pearls Agrotech Corporation and Pearls Golden Forest.
The CBI investigated the case on direction of the Supreme Court and had raided company offices and taken data “relating to the deposits and misutilisation and diversion of funds”.
Pearls Australasia director David Higgins said issues surrounding Pearls Group were irrelevant to the Australian company and the sale was “absolutely not” related.
“We bought the hotel as a passive investment, and we’ve added our value as a development company,” he said.
“Now the market is returning both globally and domestically it would seem a fantastic time to test the market, and divert the capital into our core businesses.”
Pearls Australasia has appointed McVay Real Estate and Knight Frank to jointly market the hotel.
Dan McVay said it was unknown what the end price would be, but noted the sale of Sydney’s Four Seasons for $340m last year and the $68.5m sale of the Gold Coast’s Palazzo Versace in 2012.
He said a starting price of about $170m, ranging to $200m could be achieved. “There is so much demand at the moment and there aren’t many Gold Coast Sheraton Mirages.”