NRMA snaps up Yamba holiday park for more than $40m
The NRMA has struck one of the biggest deals yet in the booming holiday park sector after buying the Blue Dolphin Holiday Resort in Yamba from the Mitchell family for more than $40 million.
The resort at 31-65 Yamba Road is spread across 5.82 hectares of land in the northern NSW coastal town and includes 300 metres of Clarence River frontage, It offers a mix of cabin and caravan sites, a service station and other facilities including a pool, bar and boat ramp.
While pricing has not been disclosed, title documents show the property was acquired for $40 million. It is understood a separate undisclosed amount was paid for the operating business.
The sale of the Blue Dolphin Resort to the NRMA comes after the North Star Holiday Resort near Hastings Point on the NSW Tweed Coast was purchased for more than $50 million in April by private equity-backed operator Tasman Holiday Parks – a record for the sector.
The Hastings Point resort sale included $30.6 million paid for the 10-hectare waterfront site, suggesting the total price paid for the Blue Dolphin Resort could be higher.
The Blue Dolphin Resort is the second holiday property in Yamba that the Mitchell family has sold to the NRMA in the past six months.
In December, the Mitchells sold the nearby 66-key Angourie Resort & Spa to NRMA Parks & Resorts.
The member-owned insurance, accommodation and roadside-assistance group operates an extensive network of caravan and camping parks as well as a clutch of boutique resorts such as Cradle Mountain Hotel and Freycinet Lodge in Tasmania.
The Blue Dolphin resort had been owned and operated by the Mitchell family for the past 34 years.
In 2005, the Mitchells sold a 55 per cent stake in the Blue Dolphin and the Yamba Waters Caravan Park to former ASX-listed investment firm Mariner Financial for about $30 million.
Four years later, fund manager Knight Capital took over the tourism fund which held the Yamba properties, after receivers had been appointed. This 55 per cent stake in the Yamba properties was later sold back to the Mitchells.
The sale of the Blue Dolphin Resort to the NRMA was brokered by Tom Gleeson from JLL.
Mr Gleeson said more than $140 million worth of holiday park assets had either settled, were under agreement or on market in the first half of 2024.
“With holiday parks providing attractive investment fundamentals of significant cash flow, large land holdings within desired locations, we expect the demand to only heighten moving forward,” he said.
In April, new data from advisers BDO showed revenue surged at double-digit rates at holiday and caravan parks over summer as cost-of-living pressures drove families to seek more affordable vacations.
Between December and February, holiday parks generated average revenue of $641,000, up 12 per cent on the $573,000 generated over the same period a year prior. Occupancy rates rose 2 percentage points to 49 per cent, the BDO figures showed.
