Billionaire keen to build 'diamond' of a resort in Port Douglas
FUTURE INTENTIONS
The billionaire owner of Port Douglas’ Crystalbrook superyacht Marina has addressed speculation he intends to sell the asset to one well-known and particularly interested potential buyer.
Speaking on his return to Cairns for the first time since the start of the COVID-19 global pandemic Crystalbrook Collection owner and Syrian billionaire Ghassan Aboud hosed down the rumours but didn’t 100% rule out he will part with it if he receives an offer he simply can’t resist.
“Frankly I don’t want to sell the marina, but I received (a lot of) interest from a number of investors,” Mr Aboud told Newsport.
Crystalbrook Collection CEO Geoff York was adamant, however, that the Marina won’t be changing hands anytime soon.
“Just to reiterate we’ve received interest from three investors about our interest in selling the marina in Port Douglas,” he revealed.
“We regularly get approached to gauge our interest in selling it.
“It is such a good business, but Ghassan has no motivation to sell it.
“We don’t need to sell it; however, we do keep getting asked, there was (interest from) a Melbourne investor, someone else from WA and various people.”
When pressed by Newsport if the interested buyer from Western Australia was none other than Australia’s richest woman, Gina Rinehart, Mr York offered a “no comment”.
Newsport first reported that Ms Rinehart had signalled her interest in potentially buying the Crystalbrook Superyacht Marina back on June 9.
Meantime, in further developments the billionaire reaffirmed his ambition to eventually construct a six-star resort in Douglas in future years.
“I want to make a very special hotel in Port Douglas, a real ‘diamond’ of a hotel,” he said passionately.
“I would like to build it from around 2026-27; I want to start to build it when the local economy continues to improve post COVID and when the time is right, we will build that diamond.”