Australia’s newest hospitality baron Glenn Piper has snapped up a leasehold on Queensland’s second-biggest Whitsundays island and is planning to build a new luxury eco-resort to woo back both domestic and international visitors.
Glenn Piper, a real estate agent and the founder and chief executive of property investment and development company Meridian Australia, has just added Hook Island to his portfolio for an undisclosed sum “in the range of $10 million to $15 million”.
It’s part of a buying spree that started in 2020 with the purchase of the $30 million Harbord Hotel on Sydney’s northern beaches and continued with the settlements two weeks ago on the lease – estimated to have cost $15 million – of the Q Station hotel and conference facility at North Head, and the $40 million Beach Hotel at Merewether, Newcastle.
“I previously looked at Dunk Island when it was on the market, but it wasn’t the right time for me to buy,” said Mr Piper, after it was revealed that his latest purchase was of a 9.3-hectare site on Hook Island that has been earmarked for the new resort. “But I looked at Hook Island and I love the ocean and it has a strong affinity with my other hospitality venues.
“They all really celebrate Australian beach culture which is something I really love. And it represents a great opportunity to take it to a larger market, both with Australian visitors and those from overseas.”
The 58-square-kilometre Hook Island, between Hayman and Whitsunday islands, is a natural haven of national park, pristine reefs and picturesque beaches. No visitors have been on the island since the closure in 2013 of the old resort Hook Island Lodge which was devastated by a cyclone in 2011, and then another in 2017.
Owner Queensland businessman Glenn Dickson cleared away what was left in the area, and obtained approval for a 50-room, nature-based eco-resort from the Whitsunday Regional Council. The site has a water frontage and two private beaches.
Mr Piper said he was impressed by the island’s beauty and felt a world-class eco-lodge had the potential to be a significant drawcard for tourism to Australia in general, and Queensland in particular.
“Eco-tourism and sustainability in design are very current trends now and that’s not going to go away,” he said “Since COVID, domestic tourism is booming and overseas tourists are keen to visit the natural wonders of Australia.
“I think our islands will be even more valuable in the future than they are now. I think Hook Island is quite priceless.”
Tourism Whitsundays chief executive Rick Hamilton said he was delighted that the island’s buyer was an Australian, and added that work would be starting soon on developing the new resort.
“It’s very exciting,” he said. “I think it probably helps to have an Australian buyer because they’d feel a greater sense of ownership rather than an overseas investor with perhaps different priorities. It’s more about the local community than just making money.
“Beachside culture is what the islands are famous for and Hook Island will help put Queensland tourism back on the map. We want to attract visitors, and encourage repeat visitors to experience something different. As with the result of the federal election, you can see people’s mindshift changing towards the environment, and they want to leave lighter footprints behind.”
Mr Piper partnered with a small syndicate of investors to buy the Hook Island site and will embark on his plans in August.