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From the outside, the luxury resort world appears to be all glitz and glamour, yet it’s no holiday when ownership changes hands, Sydney agent Tom Gibson has revealed.
Speaking to REB, Mr Gibson, who alongside Michael Simpson is managing the sale via an international expression of interest, of Yasawa Island Resort & Spa off the northwest side of Fiji’s main island, revealed the pre-listing process, in itself, can often take months to best position “a property to come to market.”
This time frame often ensures “there is a clear vision for a new ownership to extract value out of both the business and the real estate.”
The CBRE Hotels Investment and Brokerage team NSW director has proclaimed the task of brokering sales of resorts is “an interesting assignment.”
With no two opportunities the same, it forces those involved in the process to “be creative in order to identify each asset’s upside.”
Despite the immediate and material impact of COVID-19 on the sector, Mr Gibson reported properties such as the 29.9 hectare of island land currently on offer attract an array of international interest ranging from experienced hotel owners and high-net-worth individuals, to luxury developers.
He revealed investors predominantly hail from Asia, Australia, New Zealand, or North America due to their proximity to Fiji, though noted buyers from Europe also are interested in the South Pacific nation.
He believes the pandemic heightened the “attraction and demand for luxury remote experiences [with] properties that offer the core fundamentals, being an irreplaceable location, surrounding natural beauty, and incredible experiences, [and] remain extremely well sought after.”
Furthermore, “with the availability of vacant possession, there will also be significant interest from owner-operators to expand the asset’s scale and apply their own brand to the resort,” he added.
In Mr Gibson’s eyes, a crucial aspect of garnering wide-ranging international interest is “formulating a plausible strategy for future ownership.”
“With each assignment, we review the business in significant detail to understand not just the current operation, but more importantly its upside,” he explained, sharing that “articulating this in an organised and defendable manner is what drives the markets interests.”
With this in mind, “each campaign requires a tailored approach in order to attract the appropriate investor.”
“Once a strategy for sale is confirmed, this will dictate the global CBRE Hotels team we work with and the appropriate avenues for market,” he said.
While the approach is “beneficial to attract the ‘left field’ buyer who are not on our books,” he revealed that the majority of interest is sourced via existing global relationships.
Despite boasting the benefit of being able to travel to amazing corners of the globe and visiting some iconic resorts, thanks to his role, Mr Gibson concluded that the most rewarding aspect of his job is “seeing a property expand and evolve over time.”
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