CHINESE INVESTORS SNAP UP ICONIC LUXURY HOTEL FOR $68M

SUNLAND Group (ASX:SDG) will sell its iconic Palazzo Versace hotel (pictured) to an unnamed investor for $68.5 million.

The Benowa-based prestige property developer put the hotel on the market in April with a price tag of $80 million, but says it was “pleased” with the deal in a brief statement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

The buyer is reportedly a Hong Kong-based investor with an interest in international five-star hotels.

The deal, which is subject to approval from the Foreign Investment Review Board and the House of Versace, is anticipated to settle on November 20.

Palazzo Versace was the world’s first fashion-branded hotel when it opened in 2000. Alongside the Q1 residential tower in Surfers Paradise, it put Sunland and the Gold Coast on the international stage.

Sunland says proceeds of the sale will initially be used to pay off the hotel’s $27.4 million debt.

The developer is in early planning stages for its next “iconic” Gold Coast development at Mariner’s Cove and is also preparing to build Carrington, a 47-storey tower in Brisbane.

Sunland shares today rose nearly 4 per cent to 92 cents per unit.