Beachfront Resort Sells for $6M

LORNE, AUSTRALIA-The management letting rights for Erskine on the Beach, a 143-unit resort here with room for expansion, has been acquired for $5.5 million by BreakFree Ltd., the Gold Coast-based company headed by former Sydney Swans AFL player Tony Smith. Situated on 4.2 hectares of beachfront on Great Ocean Road, the property includes 60 dual key contemporary 4.5-star apartments and 83 three-star guest rooms in the historic Erskine House. Existing amenities include lawn tennis, croquet, lawn-bowls, an 18-hole putting green and conference facilities.The acquisition takes BreakFree’s portfolio to 34 properties and marks its first foray into the Victoria region of Australia. Smith says the group is planning for an extensive refurbishment and expansion of the property that will transform it into Victoria’s largest resort with 290 4.5-star keys and conference facilities for up to 700 guests. “We anticipate adding extra leisure facilities to the resort including an indoor pool, gymnasium, saunas and day spa,” says Smith.Jones Lang LaSalle SVP Mark Durran, who brokered the transaction, says work toward the expansion is well on its way. “Development approvals are also in place for an additional 64 luxury dual key apartments at the site, with almost 90% of them pre-sold,” says Durran. “BreakFree is presently in discussions with various parties to complete the development.”Durran says the purchase was strategic for BreakFree, in that it gives the firm a well-known location in Victoria. The sale generated interest from over 100 resort, hotel and timeshare operators and investors, as well as developers “vying to capitalize on the success of the resort and Lorne’s favorable tourism conditions,” says Durran.