Cruise Whitsundays Terminal and Marina Sold for $20.75 Million

The Sentinel Property Group-owned Port of Airlie – Cruise Whitsundays terminal and marina, which serves as the key gateway to The Whitsundays and the Great Barrier Reef, has been sold for $20.75 million.

The asset was sold to Sydney hotelier Glenn Piper’s Epochal Hotels following a sales campaign managed by JLL’s Jacob Swan, Liam Cox and Christian Tsalikis, together with Burgess Rawson from CBRE’s Neville Smith and Craig Chapman.

The maritime terminal had been acquired by the Sentinel Infrastructure (Airlie Beach) Trust in 2015 for $15.3 million, with a 20-year leaseback, and a further 10-year option to Cruise Whitsundays.

Sentinel CEO Warren Ebert said the asset had performed well for Sentinel investors over the past decade.

“This is a great result,” Mr Ebert said. “Our decision to sell is always based on Sentinel’s strategy of buying at an opportune time and then selling based on our view of the market.”

The offering comprises 1,400 sqm of terminal building on a 1,893 sqm freehold site and approximately 310 lineal metres of pontoon infrastructure. It also includes an 8,119 sqm seabed lease marina.

The asset generates a net operating income of $1.877 million per annum, anchored by Cruise Whitsundays, the largest marine tourism operator in the region and part of the Journey Beyond Group, until 2035, with a further 10-year option, providing a weighted average lease expiry (WALE) of approximately 10 years.

The terminal is leased to Cruise Whitsundays until 2035, with a further 10-year option, providing a weighted average lease expiry (WALE) of approximately 10 years.

Cruise Whitsundays operates essential transport and tourism services throughout the Whitsunday Islands and Great Barrier Reef, including connections to Hamilton Island and Daydream Island, reef excursions to the Reefworld pontoon, and its flagship Reefsuites and Reefsleep experiences.