Great Keppel Island is set to change hands between the preferred buyer, a Singaporean/Taiwanese group based in Singapore, and current leaseholder Tower Holdings for 970.9 ha of development approved land on the island, subject to State and Federal Government requirements.

JLL Hotels & Hospitality Group’s Tom Gibson, together with Knight Frank’s Pat O’Driscoll, Ben McGrath and Dominic Ong managed then international sales campaign that commenced earlier this year.

The parts of the island to be sold includes land earmarked for a marina precinct and hotel development, known as Fisherman’s Beach, as well as an existing airport with a private airstrip. Tower Holdings will also sell the adjoining Clam Bay on which a Greg Norman-designed 18-hole championship golf course is to be developed.

Tom Gibson told WILLIAMS MEDIA, “This is a generational transaction with a group that are committed to bringing the island and the region back to life. It is an exceptional news story not just the Queensland tourism industry, but the whole of tourism in Australia”.

It is understood that JLL Hotels & Hospitality Group will be managing the operator selection process who will engage a large a luxury international operator to bring its own unique offering to the development.

Ex Mantra Group CEO and Chair of Tourism Australia has also welcomed the news that Great Keppel Island will change hands.

"The Great Barrier Reef is a national treasure and with appropriate development, Great Keppel Island can return as an iconic tourism offering,” Mr East said.

Great Keppel is widely regarded as one of Australia’s most beautiful tropical Islands. It is the largest in the Keppel group of Islands with a total area of some 1,454 ha and boasts 17 white sandy beaches and crystal clear waters just 12 kilometres off Yeppoon on the Capricorn Coast at the southern end of the Great Barrier Reef.

“The international marketing campaign resulted in over 100 requests for information memorandums from all over the world including America, China, Singapore, Australia, the United Arab Emirates and Europe.” Mr O’Driscoll said.

“Current development approvals for the island include 223,750sq m of gross floor area comprising a 250- room beachfront hotel, 300 luxury apartments, 285 luxury villas, 9,000sq m of retail shops and a 250- berth marina.” Mr. McGrath added.

The Queensland Government has committed to investing in tourism growth with a commitment to bring power and water from the mainland at a cost of approximately $25 million to assist in expediting new development on the island, which strongly enhanced the appeal of the offering for potential buyers.

In the 1980s and 90s Great Keppel Island was a famous holiday destination with the legendary marketing catch cry of ‘Get wrecked on Keppel’ and the local community is keen to see the island return to being one of the leading tourism destinations in Queensland.

Mary Carroll, Chief Executive of the region’s peak tourism and economic development body, Capricorn Enterprise, said: “Great Keppel Island is a very special place on the Capricorn Coast and Southern Great Barrier Reef and the next chapter in its development will be another game changer for our tourism industry.

“Whilst up to ten commercial operators offering 300 beds and a variety of water tour activities have survived and thrived over the past decade after the resort closure, we all acknowledge that a new resort with mainland connection of water and power will help realise the island’s full tourism potential, creating jobs and growth for our destination.

“It took seven years, three designs, ninety consultants and millions of dollars to achieve an approval of new resort development plans which were granted to Tower Holdings by State, Federal and Local governments in March and May of 2013, with the past five years focused on raising capital to commence construction, which ultimately led to the decision by Tower Holdings to go to market with its existing approvals on Great Keppel Island.”

Member for Keppel Brittany Lauga said the agreement was another positive step forward to the revitalisation of Great Keppel Island.

“I was pleased when demolition started on the old resort earlier this year after the State Government took action with work completed a few months later,” she said.

“We have all been waiting for something to happen on GKI since the old resort was closed over 10 years ago. I look forward to the project progressing to construction.

“Great Keppel Island is the jewel in the crown of our region and the Palaszczuk Government is proud to be investing $25 million into the supply of power and water to the island in order to grow tourism and jobs across the entire Central Queensland community.

“The international interest in the island just goes to show the strong confidence investors have in the future of our beautiful region.”

To discuss the sale in further detail phone or email Tom Gibson via the below contact details.