Forest Endeavour, a property development company controlled by Taiwanese billionaire Lin Chen-hai, has acquired a major mixed-use property on Australia’s Gold Coast for AUD346.5 million (US$250 million).
The deal involves the Paradise Centre and Novotel Surfers Paradise in Queensland, which were purchased from Abu Dhabi Investment Corp. and Challenger Life after a competitive bidding process, according to Forbes.
Real estate consultancy JLL, which managed the sale alongside McVay Real Estate, said in a statement that this marks the largest transaction involving a combined hotel and retail complex in Queensland.
“Mixed-use assets of this scale and quality rarely come to market in Australia,” said Nick Willis, executive director of JLL Retail Investments Australia & New Zealand.
“The combination of a dominant retail and entertainment precinct with a major hotel in such a strategic location is genuinely unique.”
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The Paradise Centre & Novotel in Gold Coast, Australia. Photo courtesy of JLL |
With a real-time net worth of $4.2 billion, Lin ranks among Taiwan’s wealthiest tycoons. He built his fortune developing affordable housing for the island’s middle class through his privately held Pau Jar Group, and expanded early into Australia’s fast-growing property market.
Lin’s latest acquisition is a Gold Coast landmark spanning approximately 2.3 hectares and attracting as many as 14 million visitors annually, according to JLL.
The Novotel Surfers Paradise is the region’s largest hotel, with 408 rooms, including two multi-level penthouse suites.
