Treasury Brisbane disposal for The Star Entertainment Group Limited

In Australia and local casino operator The Star Entertainment Group Limited has reportedly agreed to sell off its Treasury Brisbane property to local real estate developer Charter Hall Group for approximately $187.2 million.

The Sydney-listed firm used a Wednesday official filing (pdf) to detail that the arrangement includes the 26-year-old downtown venue’s 700-space parking garage and has been undertaken as part of a strategy to dispose of low-earning assets and release capital ahead of the expected 2023 opening of its nearby Queen’s Wharf Brisbane development.

Lease-back license:

The Star Entertainment Group Limited explained that the deal is to involve the offload of Treasure Brisbane’s five-star hotel and parking garage with both facilities being immediately leased back as part of a 30-year alliance complete with fixed annual rents and an initial 4.7% cap rate. The Brisbane-headquartered company stated that this contract moreover contains a pair of 15-year extension options but does not cover the adjacent Old State Library building, for which it now intends to ‘explore future uses and ownership models’.

Surrogate service:

Additionally responsible for eastern Australia’s The Star Gold Coast and The Star Sydney properties, The Star Entertainment Group Limited furthermore declared that it now intends to continue operating the 101,600 sq ft casino within Treasury Brisbane until its larger Queen’s Wharf Brisbane successor begins welcoming punters sometime during the first half of 2023.

Extensive enterprise:

According to a report from Inside Asian Gaming and The Star Entertainment Group Limited is building the $2.8 billion Queen’s Wharf Brisbane development in partnership with Hong Kong-based partners Chow Tai Fook Enterprises Limited and Far East Consortium International Limited. This source noted that the finished Queensland project will sit on a roughly 33-acre site overlooking the Brisbane River and is expected to feature four six-star hotels, 50 restaurants, bars and cafes and as many as 2,000 residential apartments.

The Star Entertainment Group Limited earlier reportedly disclosed that the coming Queen’s Wharf Brisbane scheme is to also premiere complete with a twelve-acre park and a 4.1 million sq ft around-the-clock casino offering a selection of more than 2,500 slots alongside hundreds of gaming tables. The operator purportedly earlier divulged that the finished scheme is expected to attract upwards of 1.3 million tourists every year and provide full-time employment for as many as 8,000 people.

Sydney solicitation:

Inside Asian Gaming reported that The Star Entertainment Group Limited first hinted at the possibility of selling off its Treasury Brisbane enterprise in May at the time of floating a $9.4 billion proposition that was to have seen it merge with beleaguered counterpart Crown Resorts Limited, which is responsible for large casino resorts in the Australian cities of Melbourne and Perth. However, this controversial proposal was called off in July some three months before the operator began looking for someone to purchase a 49% stake in its The Star Sydney venue.